The statutory survivorship deed
Ohio's cleanest path to a survivorship tenancy is the statutory form set out in O.R.C. § 5302.17, which conveys real property "for their joint lives, remainder to the survivor of them." A deed following that form vests the interest of a deceased owner directly in the survivor or survivors, with no probate filing needed for that property.
The word "or" is a trap
It's a common assumption that a deed to "A or B" creates the same kind of survivorship as "A and B" — in Ohio, it's the opposite assumption that's correct. § 5302.20(A) states plainly that using "or" between the names of two or more grantees does not by itself create a survivorship tenancy, and must be construed and interpreted as if "and" had been used instead. The statute does allow survivorship to be created more broadly than the exact statutory form — any deed or will with language that clearly shows intent to create it will be liberally construed to do so — but "or" alone isn't read as that kind of clear intent.
More than two owners: proportional vesting
When three or more people hold a survivorship tenancy, a death doesn't automatically hand the whole property to a single remaining owner right away. Under § 5302.20(B), each survivorship tenant holds an equal share during their joint lives unless the deed says otherwise, and when one dies, their share vests proportionately among the surviving tenants. This continues until only one survivorship tenant is left, who then holds the entire property alone.
How the transfer gets recorded
Clearing title after a survivorship tenant's death doesn't require a probate case. The survivor files either a certificate of transfer under O.R.C. § 2113.61, or an affidavit reciting the other survivorship tenants' names and addresses, the decedent's date of death, and a description of the property, accompanied by a certified death certificate — filed with the county auditor and recorded by the county recorder.
Tenancy by the entireties: a closed, narrow window
Some states default a married couple's deed into an automatic-survivorship form; Ohio briefly allowed exactly that, but the window has been closed for decades. Under § 5302.22(A)(4), "tenants by the entireties" in Ohio refers only to deeds recorded between February 9, 1972 and April 3, 1985. A married couple buying property in Ohio today creates survivorship, if they want it, through an ordinary survivorship deed instead — there's no automatic entireties default the way there is in some other states.
Alongside the TOD designation affidavit
A survivorship deed isn't the only route to keeping Ohio real estate out of probate. Since 2009, an owner can also record a Transfer on Death Designation Affidavit, which works differently — it names a beneficiary who has no ownership interest at all until death, rather than making them a co-owner during life.