Affidavit of domicile
A sworn statement of where somebody legally lived when they died, used to transfer securities.
What it means
A transfer agent moving shares out of a dead person's name has to know which state's law and which state's tax authority the transfer answers to. Address on a statement is not enough — somebody who winters in Florida and summers in Michigan has one legal domicile and two addresses. The affidavit of domicile is the executor's sworn answer to that question.
It is a short form, signed before a notary, naming the deceased, the date of death, and the state and county of legal residence. Transfer agents supply their own version and generally will not accept a different one.
It travels with the other two documents a transfer agent asks for: a certified copy of the death certificate, and evidence of the signer's authority. Some also require a medallion signature guarantee.
Why it matters
Without it a brokerage transfer stalls, and the stall is usually discovered weeks after the paperwork was posted.
Domicile also decides which state's inheritance or estate tax applies, and a family that assumed the wrong state can find the assumption corrected for them by a transfer agent.
When you are likely to meet it
- When transferring or selling shares held directly with a transfer agent rather than through a broker.
- When a brokerage sends a list of what it needs before it will retitle an account.
- When the person who died had homes in more than one state.
How this varies by state
The form itself is the transfer agent's, not the state's. What varies by state is which authority cares about the answer.