Transfer on Death Designation Affidavit Recording in Cuyahoga County

You send the prepared, notarized affidavit. ACC reviews it, confirms your total, and submits only after you approve and pay.

Start a filing request or see filing services and terms.

What a Transfer on Death Designation Affidavit Does

Ohio lets an individual owner of real estate name one or more beneficiaries who take the property when the owner dies. This is done with a transfer on death designation affidavit under Ohio Revised Code 5302.22. The beneficiary does not need to receive the affidavit, and no payment is involved. The affidavit does have to be recorded with the county recorder where the property is located.

This page explains the recording step in Cuyahoga County. It is general information, not legal advice. Whether a transfer on death designation fits your situation, and how it interacts with a will, a trust, a mortgage or Medicaid planning, is a question for an attorney.

What ACC Does and Doesn't Do

ACC Solutions handles the administrative recording of an affidavit that is already prepared, signed and notarized:

• We review the package for administrative completeness before anything is submitted.
• We submit it electronically, track its status, and send you the recording reference and recorded copy when the county returns it.

ACC does not draft the affidavit, choose beneficiaries, notarize, research title, or give legal or tax advice. You or your preparer remain responsible for the affidavit's content and signatures. If the affidavit still needs to be prepared, tell us during intake, and we'll identify that before accepting the filing package.

What Ohio Law Requires in the Affidavit

Under ORC 5302.22(D), the affidavit must be verified before a person authorized to administer oaths (in practice, a notary) and must include:

1. A description of the real property and a reference to a recorded instrument that contains that description.
2. If less than the whole interest is being designated, a statement of the specific interest or part being transferred.
3. A statement that the person signing is the owner shown on the record when the affidavit is recorded, and the owner's marital status.
4. If the owner is married, a statement by the spouse that the spouse's dower rights are subordinate to the beneficiaries' interest.
5. One or more beneficiaries, identified by name.

The statute is written for an individual who owns the property alone, as a tenant in common, or as a survivorship tenant. If the property is titled in an LLC, a trust or another entity, ask an attorney how the designation would work before anything is prepared.

The Cuyahoga County Form

The Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer posts a Transfer on Death Designation Affidavit form on its Real Estate Services Forms page. The county also says it does not give legal advice or guarantee the accuracy of any form, and it points people with questions to its legal assistance resources. Whether you use the county form or a document an attorney prepared, check these items against your current recorded deed before signing:

• The owner's name exactly as it appears on the deed of record
• The prior instrument reference for the deed the owner holds
• The permanent parcel number and a legal description that matches the recorded one
• Spouse signature lines filled in where the owner is married
• The notary section completed, plus the preparer information the county form asks for

Cost to Record

ORC 5302.22(E) says the recorder charges the same fee for this affidavit as for recording a deed. The Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer lists the standard recording fee as $39 for the first two pages and $8 for each page after that, effective October 24, 2024. A three-page affidavit would be $47 in county recording fees. Check the Fiscal Officer's Fees and Filings page for the current table before you file.

• Single prepared document: $99 ACC service fee
• Managed batch: $499 for up to 10 prepared documents, such as affidavits for several different properties
• County fees: extra, and confirmed with you before you pay

Pitfalls That Get Affidavits Rejected or Cause Trouble Later

• Waiting to record. The affidavit only works if it is recorded before the owner's death. A submission receipt isn't a recording, so watch for the recorded copy. If timing is critical, tell ACC before you rely on any schedule.
• A missing spouse statement. Ohio requires the spouse's dower statement when the owner is married.
• A description that doesn't match the record. The affidavit must reference a recorded instrument that contains the description.
• Formatting problems. Ohio Revised Code 317.114 sets margins, minimum font size, ink color and paper size for recorded documents. The county can charge an extra $20 fee for a document that doesn't meet them. Our post on why documents get rejected for recording covers more of these problems.
• Assuming an older affidavit still controls. Under ORC 5302.22, a later affidavit for the same interest replaces earlier ones.

After the Owner Dies: The Affidavit of Confirmation

A recorded designation doesn't finish the job. Under ORC 5302.222, a beneficiary files an affidavit of confirmation with the county, with a certified copy of the owner's death certificate attached, so the record reflects the new ownership. Cuyahoga County posts an Affidavit of Transfer on Death form for this step on the same forms page. Questions about that step, such as debts, taxes or competing claims, belong with an attorney. If the confirmation affidavit is already prepared, ACC can review it for recording during intake, as with any other prepared document.

How It Works With ACC

1. Send a filing request. Use the filing request form with the property address and your signed, notarized affidavit.
2. Review. ACC checks the package for administrative completeness and confirms the ACC fee and estimated county fees.
3. Approve and pay. Nothing is submitted until you approve the package and payment is confirmed.
4. Electronic submission and tracking. ACC submits the affidavit and tracks it with the county.
5. Recorded copy. You receive the recording reference and the recorded copy once the county returns it.

New to recording in this county? See how to record a deed in Cuyahoga County and electronic document recording in Cuyahoga County. For why the recording step matters, read what happens if a deed is not recorded in Ohio.

Frequently Asked Questions

Record Your Prepared Affidavit

Don't let a signed affidavit go unrecorded. Start a filing request, read the filing services and terms, or call (216) 238-5999.