South Carolina Forms

Dorchester County Affidavit of Deceased Joint Tenant Form

Dorchester County Affidavit of Deceased Joint Tenant Form

Dorchester County Affidavit of Deceased Joint Tenant Form

Fill in the blank form formatted to comply with all recording and content requirements.

Document Last Validated 7/15/2025
Dorchester County Affidavit of Deceased Joint Tenant Guide

Dorchester County Affidavit of Deceased Joint Tenant Guide

Line by line guide explaining every blank on the form.

Document Last Validated 5/20/2025
Dorchester County Completed Example of the Affidavit of Deceased Joint Tenant Document

Dorchester County Completed Example of the Affidavit of Deceased Joint Tenant Document

Example of a properly completed form for reference.

Document Last Validated 7/11/2025

All 3 documents above included • One-time purchase • No recurring fees

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Important: Your property must be located in Dorchester County to use these forms. Documents should be recorded at the office below.

Where to Record Your Documents

Dorchester County Register of Deeds
Address:
201 Johnston St / PO Box 38
Saint George, South Carolina 29477

Hours: 8:30 to 5:00 Monday through Friday

Phone: (843) 563-0181 and 832-0181 for Summerville

Recording Tips for Dorchester County:
  • Documents must be on 8.5 x 11 inch white paper
  • Recorded documents become public record - avoid including SSNs
  • Leave recording info boxes blank - the office fills these
  • Both spouses typically need to sign if property is jointly owned

Cities and Jurisdictions in Dorchester County

Properties in any of these areas use Dorchester County forms:

  • Dorchester
  • Grover
  • Harleyville
  • North Charleston
  • Reevesville
  • Ridgeville
  • Saint George
  • Summerville

View Complete Recorder Office Guide

Hours, fees, requirements, and more for Dorchester County

How do I get my forms?

Forms are available for immediate download after payment. The Dorchester County forms will be in your account ready to download to your computer. An account is created for you during checkout if you don't have one. Forms are NOT emailed.

Are these forms guaranteed to be recordable in Dorchester County?

Yes. Our form blanks are guaranteed to meet or exceed all formatting requirements set forth by Dorchester County including margin requirements, content requirements, font and font size requirements.

Can I reuse these forms?

Yes. You can reuse the forms for your personal use. For example, if you have multiple properties in Dorchester County you only need to order once.

What do I need to use these forms?

The forms are PDFs that you fill out on your computer. You'll need Adobe Reader (free software that most computers already have). You do NOT enter your property information online - you download the blank forms and complete them privately on your own computer.

Are there any recurring fees?

No. This is a one-time purchase. Nothing to cancel, no memberships, no recurring fees.

How much does it cost to record in Dorchester County?

Recording fees in Dorchester County vary. Contact the recorder's office at (843) 563-0181 and 832-0181 for Summerville for current fees.

Questions answered? Let's get started!

Joint tenancy in South Carolina is governed by S.C. Code Ann. 27-7-40.

When two or more people share ownership of real property, they have choice of ways in which to hold title -- either as tenants in common or as joint tenants with the right of survivorship.

Tenancy in common is the standard form of co-ownership. In it, each person owns a percentage of the land, and when the owner dies, that portion passes to his/her estate where it is distributed during the probate process.

Joint tenancy, on the other hand, must be declared in the text of the deed: "whenever any deed of conveyance of real estate contains the names of the grantees followed by the words 'as joint tenants with rights of survivorship, and not as tenants in common' the creation of a joint tenancy with rights of survivorship in the real estate is conclusively deemed to have been created" ( 27-7-40(a)).

The statutes go on to explain that in the "event of the death of a joint tenant, and in the event only one other joint tenant in the joint tenancy survives, the entire interest of the deceased joint tenant in the real estate vests in the surviving joint tenant, who is vested with the entire interest in the real estate owned by the joint tenants" ( 27-7-40(a)(i)).

If one or more joint tenant survives the deceased owner, "the entire interest of the deceased joint tenant vests equally in the surviving joint tenants who continues to own the entire interest owned by them as joint tenants with right of survivorship" ( 27-7-40(a)(ii)).

So, how does the survivorship process work? The statutes direct the surviving joint tenant or tenants to file with the Register of Deeds of the county in which the real estate is located a certified copy of the certificate of death of the deceased joint tenant. The fee to be paid to the Register of Deeds for this filing is the same as the fee for the deed of conveyance. The Register of Deeds must index the certificate of death under the name of the deceased joint tenant in the grantor deed index of that office. The filing of the certificate of death is conclusive that the joint tenant is deceased and that the interest of the deceased joint tenant has vested by operation of law in the surviving joint tenant or tenants in the joint tenancy in real estate" ( 27-7-40(b)).

While there is no specific statutory obligation to submit the certified copy of the death certificate with an affidavit attesting to the details of the change in ownership status, it makes sense to do so. An affidavit contains statements, made under oath, which can be admitted as evidence in court. By recording an affidavit of deceased joint tenant along with the death certificate, the surviving owner(s) protect the title to the real estate. Maintaining a clear chain of title leads to less complicated sales in the future because the title search will show a continuous series of owners and transfers, which reduces the likelihood of unexpected claims against the title.

Even though recording the affidavit of deceased joint tenant and the official copy of the death certificate initiates the process of distributing the decedent's share of the real property, the only way to remove his/her name from the title is to record a new deed with the updated information.

(South Carolina AODJT Package includes form, guidelines, and completed example)

Important: Your property must be located in Dorchester County to use these forms. Documents should be recorded at the office below.

This Affidavit of Deceased Joint Tenant meets all recording requirements specific to Dorchester County.

Our Promise

The documents you receive here will meet, or exceed, the Dorchester County recording requirements for formatting. If there's an issue caused by our formatting, we'll make it right and refund your payment.

Save Time and Money

Get your Dorchester County Affidavit of Deceased Joint Tenant form done right the first time with Deeds.com Uniform Conveyancing Blanks. At Deeds.com, we understand that your time and money are valuable resources, and we don't want you to face a penalty fee or rejection imposed by a county recorder for submitting nonstandard documents. We constantly review and update our forms to meet rapidly changing state and county recording requirements for roughly 3,500 counties and local jurisdictions.

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