Geauga County Affidavit of Confirmation (Entity Beneficiary) Form

When an Ohio transfer on death designation affidavit names a limited liability company, a corporation, a partnership, or another legal entity as the beneficiary, the instrument that records the transfer after the owner's death is signed by a person acting for that entity. This Ohio Affidavit of Confirmation (Entity Beneficiary) prepares that instrument under Section 5302.222 of the Ohio Revised Code: one affiant, signing on behalf of one entity beneficiary, swearing to the facts the statute requires and confirming the transfer of the deceased owner's interest.

A beneficiary that exists rather than survives

Ohio's transfer on death statute treats a legal person differently from an individual. Section 5302.22(G) transfers the deceased owner's interest only to the beneficiaries named in the recorded designation affidavit who survive the deceased owner or that are in existence on the date of the deceased owner's death. An individual beneficiary survives; an entity exists. Section 5302.23(B)(3) provides that any transfer on death beneficiary may be a natural or legal person, with the one limit that beneficiaries designated to take as survivorship tenants are natural persons only. The form's Section 5 states that test in fixed text: the entity was in existence on the date of death of the deceased owner and is a transfer on death beneficiary to which the interest is transferred.

One signer, acting for the entity

The form identifies exactly one affiant and exactly one entity beneficiary. Section 1 names the individual who signs, with that person's title, names the entity as it appears in the recorded designation affidavit, identifies the kind of entity and its jurisdiction of organization, and carries the entity's mailing address, which Section 5302.222(A)(1) requires for every surviving or existing beneficiary. Fixed text states that the entity is a legal person designated by name as a transfer on death beneficiary and that the affiant is authorized to act for it. The form carries one signature block and one jurat, the sworn to and subscribed certificate Section 147.542 accepts for an oath, because Section 5302.222(A) requires the affidavit to be verified before a person authorized to administer oaths rather than acknowledged. The jurat's name line shows the affiant's representative capacity.

This configuration is the entity pattern and nothing else. A beneficiary who is an individual signs in that person's own right, with no entity, title, or authority statement, and a beneficiary designated as trustee of a trust is reached by the successor trustee sentence of Section 5302.222(A)(1), which this form does not carry.

What the affidavit carries into the record

Section 5302.222(A) lists the contents of an affidavit of confirmation, and the form arranges them in numbered sections: the name and address of each beneficiary who survived or was in existence on the date of death, the date of death, a description of the real property or interest, and the name of each beneficiary who did not survive or was not in existence. The form adds the recording reference of the designation affidavit, the parcel number, the property address, and the prior instrument reference under Section 319.20. The operative section has no blanks: the affiant, being first duly sworn, states the facts and confirms the transfer on death of the deceased owner's interest to the beneficiary or beneficiaries named in the affidavit. A knowingly false statement is falsification under Section 5302.222(E).

Auditor first, then recorder

The statute puts the county auditor ahead of the recorder. The affidavit is presented to the auditor of the county where the property is located with a certified copy of the deceased owner's death certificate and the conveyance fee statement Section 319.202 requires, and is then filed with the county recorder under Section 5302.222(C). The form follows Section 317.114: letter size, twelve point body text above the ten point minimum, a three-inch blank top margin on the first page for the auditor's and recorder's endorsements, one-inch side and bottom margins, and a one and one-half inch top margin on every later page. It carries the preparer statement Section 317.111 requires.

The package includes the fillable affidavit of confirmation, a completed example for a Franklin County parcel passing to an Ohio limited liability company, and the guide that describes each section and the auditor and recorder steps. This description and the guide describe the form and the governing statutes in general terms; they are not legal advice.