Contra Costa County Affidavit of Surviving Spouse Form (California)
All Contra Costa County specific forms and documents listed below are included in your immediate download package:
Affidavit of Surviving Spouse Form
Fill in the blank form formatted to comply with all recording and content requirements.
Included Contra Costa County compliant document last validated/updated 10/9/2024
Affidavit of Surviving Spouse Guide
Line by line guide explaining every blank on the form.
Included Contra Costa County compliant document last validated/updated 11/19/2024
Completed Example of the Affidavit of Surviving Spouse Document
Example of a properly completed form for reference.
Included Contra Costa County compliant document last validated/updated 5/31/2024
The following California and Contra Costa County supplemental forms are included as a courtesy with your order:
When using these Affidavit of Surviving Spouse forms, the subject real estate must be physically located in Contra Costa County. The executed documents should then be recorded in the following office:
Contra Costa Clerk-Recorder
555 Escobar St / PO Box 350 , Martinez, California 94553
Hours: 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM Monday through Friday
Phone: (925) 335-7910
Local jurisdictions located in Contra Costa County include:
- Alamo
- Antioch
- Bethel Island
- Brentwood
- Byron
- Canyon
- Clayton
- Concord
- Crockett
- Danville
- Diablo
- Discovery Bay
- El Cerrito
- El Sobrante
- Hercules
- Knightsen
- Lafayette
- Martinez
- Moraga
- Oakley
- Orinda
- Pinole
- Pittsburg
- Pleasant Hill
- Port Costa
- Richmond
- Rodeo
- San Pablo
- San Ramon
- Walnut Creek
How long does it take to get my forms?
Forms are available immediately after submitting payment.
How do I get my forms, are they emailed?
Immediately after you submit payment, the Contra Costa County forms you order will be available for download directly from your account. You can then download the forms to your computer. If you do not already have an account, one will be created for you as part of the order process, and your login details will be provided to you. If you encounter any issues accessing your forms, please reach out to our support team for assistance. Forms are NOT emailed to you.
What does "validated/updated" mean?
This indicates the most recent date when at least one of the following occurred:
- Updated: The document was updated or changed to remain compliant.
- Validated: The document was examined by an attorney or staff, or it was successfully recorded in Contra Costa County using our eRecording service.
Are these forms guaranteed to be recordable in Contra Costa County?
Yes. Our form blanks are guaranteed to meet or exceed all formatting requirements set forth by Contra Costa County including margin requirements, content requirements, font and font size requirements.
Can the Affidavit of Surviving Spouse forms be re-used?
Yes. You can re-use the forms for your personal use. For example, if you have more than one property in Contra Costa County that you need to transfer you would only need to order our forms once for all of your properties in Contra Costa County.
What are supplemental forms?
Often when a deed is recorded, additional documents are required by California or Contra Costa County. These could be tax related, informational, or even as simple as a coversheet. Supplemental forms are provided for free with your order where available.
What type of files are the forms?
All of our Contra Costa County Affidavit of Surviving Spouse forms are PDFs. You will need to have or get Adobe Reader to use our forms. Adobe Reader is free software that most computers already have installed.
Do I need any special software to use these forms?
You will need to have Adobe Reader installed on your computer to use our forms. Adobe Reader is free software that most computers already have installed.
Do I have to enter all of my property information online?
No. The blank forms are downloaded to your computer and you fill them out there, at your convenience.
Can I save the completed form, email it to someone?
Yes, you can save your deed form at any point with your information in it. The forms can also be emailed, blank or complete, as attachments.
Are there any recurring fees involved?
No. Nothing to cancel, no memberships, no recurring fees.
Transferring California Community Property to the Surviving Spouse
Section 100(a) of the California Probate Code states that when a married person dies, one-half of the couple's community property belongs to the surviving spouse and the other half stays in the decedent's name, ostensibly for probate distribution. For transfers occurring after July 1, 2001, California property owners gained the option to hold title as community property with the right of survivorship. By vesting this way, the remaining spouse acquires the deceased spouse's portion of the shared property without the need for probate (Cal Civ Code 682.1(a)).
The surviving spouse files an affidavit (a statement of facts, made under oath), along with an official copy of the death certificate, at the recording office for the county where the property is located. The content may vary depending on the circumstances, but it generally contains the names of both spouses, a formal legal description of the shared real estate, and the recording information for the deed transferring ownership to the couple, confirming their intention to hold title as community property. Note that the right of survivorship is not automatic with community property -- it must be written on the face of the deed. To alleviate any questions about the survivorship status, consider including an official copy of the recorded deed.
The affidavit should also confirm, among other things, that the co-owners were married when the decedent died, that there are no probate actions related to the property, and that the surviving spouse is submitting the affidavit to ensure clear title. A clear title is important because it makes future transactions involving the real estate less complicated.
Each case is unique, so contact an attorney with specific questions or for complex situations.
(California Affidavit of Surviving Spouse Package includes form, guidelines, and completed example)
Our Promise
The documents you receive here will meet, or exceed, the Contra Costa 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 Contra Costa County Affidavit of Surviving Spouse 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.
4.8 out of 5 - ( 4434 Reviews )
James S.
November 21st, 2024
Forms used, created quitclaim deed that the county accepted without a second look (turns out they see deeds.com forms regularly via erecording and in person). Will be back for any real estate related forms I need and they carry. Will always be my first stop. Also, will use erecording next time, mad I didn't see it this time.
Thanks for the kind words James, glad we could help. Look forward to seeing you again.
Thomas G.
November 21st, 2024
Wasn’t what I expected
Sorry to hear that your expectations were missed. Your order has been canceled. We do hope that you find something more suitable to your expectations elsewhere. Do keep in mind that purchasing legal forms should not be an exploratory endeavor.
Jimmy P.
November 20th, 2024
They sent me everything I would need to do this. Easy purchase -Easy download. Great!! I'll be back here for all my document needs.
We appreciate your business and value your feedback. Thank you. Have a wonderful day!
Armando R.
December 13th, 2022
Great service and support!
Thank you!
Gerald N.
January 22nd, 2022
Very nice website!
Thank you!
Terreva B.
August 9th, 2019
Yes it helped with some things but I need more info
Thank you!
Matthew D.
February 16th, 2019
Fantastic forms easy process couldn't be happier! Thanks
Thank you Matthew!
William B.
October 22nd, 2023
The forms, and other information, are all excellent.rnI would be giving a 5-star review if it were not for the fact that downloading a "bundle" about quitclaim deeds required I download every single file independently (15 files). I would far prefer a zip file, or one click to download the whole pile of independent files.
Your feedback is valuable to us and helps us improve. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Tammy B.
August 13th, 2020
I am so happy that I was able to get these forms. So simple to get and seems like will be easy to fill out . Thank you
We appreciate your business and value your feedback. Thank you. Have a wonderful day!
Richard C.
January 2nd, 2020
There was not much info available but what you produced confirmed what I needed to know.
Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it. Have a great day!
Jared D.
April 29th, 2020
Yes it was awsome experience,thank you
Thank you!
Barry B.
November 19th, 2020
I was very impressed on how simple the process was to record the documents I needed recorded. Thank you for all of your help.
Thank you!
Thomas D.
April 30th, 2020
The documents themselves are fine and the information provided with them is helpful. I find the actual processing of the documents, however, to be difficult particularly once the document has been saved. First, I note that the box for the date only allows entry of the last 2 digits of the year. Unfortunately, my download only allows me to enter one of the 2 digits required. When I delete it repeatedly, it eventually allows both digits to be entered but puts them in extremely small text and in superscrypt. I have not found a solution to this problem and am not sure the deed can even be recorded with this problem.
Another problem is that if you try to revise the document after you have saved it the curser goes to the end of the line after each key entry. This means that there basically is no way to efficiently save the document for reworking later since you will have to delete everything you have entered in the text box unless you only need to make a single keystroke change or are willing to replace the curser after each entry. Try that with a long property description!
Please note that I am using a Mac to prepare my documents and perhaps this is part of an "incompatibility problem". However, I didn't see a disclaimer regarding Mac use and so would expect the documents to perform correctly. Overall, I give the program a "2 star" rating because I am experiencing significant difficulties in entering dates in the documents even before saving them and because saving your work for later revision appears to be basically unworkable.
Thank you for your feedback Thomas, we appreciate you being specific about the issues you encountered. Adobe and Mac have a fairly long history of issues working together.
Dennis B.
June 19th, 2019
It was easy to download the necessary "Death of Joint Tenant" forms. These easy to use interactive forms are made to comply with the laws specific to your state.
Thank you!
James K.
May 15th, 2024
Looks like a very professional site. I just don’t know what it would cost using this site.
Thanks for the kind words about the website James, sorry to hear that you could not find pricing information, we will try harder.