Oklahoma · 58 O.S. §912Oklahoma joint tenancy: ending a deceased owner's interest by affidavit before the sale

When Oklahoma real property – including a mortgage – is held by two or more people in joint tenancy with right of survivorship, a surviving joint tenant, or that survivor's personal representative or attorney in fact, may evidence the end of the deceased joint tenant's interest by filing papers with the county clerk where the land lies (58 O.S. §912(A), (C)). The same procedure ends a deceased life tenant's interest for the surviving life tenant or remainderman (§912(B)). The filing is a certified copy of the death certificate and an affidavit describing the property, stating that the decedent is the joint tenant or life tenant named in the recorded document that created the tenancy, identifying that document by book and page, saying whether the survivor and the decedent were husband and wife, and giving the date of death; a representative or attorney in fact also files the letters or the power of attorney (§912(C)(1)–(2)). An affidavit sworn before a notarial officer is recorded without an acknowledgment (§912(C)(2)). An Oklahoma Tax Commission estate tax release is needed only in the cases the statute lists, and for deaths on or after January 1, 2010 no release is necessary (§912(C)(3)). Once filed, the papers are conclusive evidence of the death and of the termination, and the title is deemed marketable unless otherwise defective (§912(D)).