
Affidavit Form Templates
Select your blank affidavit form for legal proceedings to outline true and correct facts. Our affidavit form free templates will help you to create the document accurately and efficiently.
What is an Affidavit?
An affidavit is a written statement that an individual makes under oath. It’s essentially similar to a witness’s testimony in a court. Before testifying on a trial, a witness gives an oath that all the facts they will state are true under the penalty of perjury.
Affidavits make a crucial compound of court proceedings because they outline the details associated with the case, which can simplify decision-making for judges. Furthermore, these documents are instrumental in record-keeping.
Affidavit forms must be signed in the presence of witnesses and notarized. The document can be considered valid only when composed voluntarily and without coercion.
At PandaDoc, you can use a free affidavit sample form to simplify the completion process. Notably, we also offer the online notarization services of a public official.
When You Can Use an Affidavit Form
Affidavits are majorly applied when an individual must make a statement under oath. Such a need may arise from the person’s specific knowledge or experience that a person is required to share. A notarized affidavit form can be required for court proceedings or disputes.
The document finds its use in the following cases:
- Divorces
- Property disputes
- Debt disagreements
- Confirmation of the legal documents’ receipt
- As notification of changes
- Residency verification
- Name change verification
- As an identity verification of a victim of identity theft
Under some scenarios, affidavits are mandatory, but this is not always the case. The legal rules regarding these documents are formulated by state law.
How Many Types of Affidavits Are There?
Affidavit forms vary significantly depending on their intended purpose. Lawyers often design the documents according to their needs in each particular case. However, there are numerous types of affidavits that follow standard formats. For your convenience, we list the 14 common forms below.
Affidavit Templates by Type
- Affidavit of Correction: Is intended to correct a mistake on a government document, for instance, an automobile’s title certificate.
- Affidavit for Court: Provides written testimony for application in a legal case.
- Affidavit of Domestic Partnership: Confirms a relationship of an unmarried couple. This affidavit usually requires a common living for six months or more. A typical use scenario for this affidavit type is a common application for health insurance.
- Affidavit of Domicile: The form is utilized to transfer the stock of a passed-away person if an affiant qualifies.
- Affidavit of Employment: Proves the individual’s employment and provides information regarding their position and payment.
- Affidavit of Financial Disclosure(waiver): A document between spouses stating they will not share financial information before signing any marital contracts.
- Affidavit of Forgery: Declares that a signature was falsified.
- Affidavit of Paternity: In the situations of a paternity doubt, establishes the paternity of a child. Typically utilized when a family is adopting a child.
- Affidavit of Residence; A statement attesting to the validity of the individual’s residency.
- Affidavit of Service: Proves to a court that documents were delivered from one party to another.
- Affidavit of Successor Trustee: Utilized when one of the owners of a joint-tenant property passes away.
- Affidavit of Trust: Demonstrates and proves the existing trust and includes general details.
- Self-Proving Affidavit: Used to confirm the validity of a will. The affidavit provides additional documentation to eliminate any opportunity to challenge a testator’s will.
- Small Estate Affidavit: Applies when a deceased person does not leave a will and has assets with an overall value below the state requirement for probate.
You can select the necessary affidavit type on our website, download your affidavit form for free, and fill it out seamlessly following our recommendations.
What’s Included in an Affidavit Form?
As a rule, affidavit forms are easy to prepare. However, you should meticulously check whether you provide all the necessary information. Otherwise, your document may be deemed invalid. The critical sections of the statement include the following:
- Title. Here, you should put either your name or the specific case information.
- Statement of identity. Provide the essential information about yourself, i.e., your name, age, address, and occupation.
- Statement of truth. In this part, you should swear that the information is true and correct according to your knowledge.
- Statement of facts. Outline all the facts pertaining to the case in one or several paragraphs. Describe each point and the details relevant to it in a separate paragraph.
- Closing statement of truth. This is another oath that the information you state is correct. Add it after the part where you present the relevant facts.
- Signature and notarization. In this section, you and the witnesses should sign the document. The form finishes with the notary section and the date.
Given the wide variety of available affidavit types, composing your own affidavit may seem challenging. Therefore, we offer convenient affidavit forms online to help you ease and expedite the process. You can also share the document with all the involved parties.
Notably, our website provides online notarization services. So, choose your form, fill it out, request the services of a state-approved online notary, and download your notarized affidavit form.
How to Write an Affidavit?
An affidavit form is a crucial document in the litigation process; therefore, it must be accurate and articulate. You should pay meticulous attention to detail and ensure that the form is complete, error-free, and truthful. Follow these eight steps to create an appropriate affidavit.
Step 1: Arrange a proper formatting
An affidavit is an official document that must be composed in compliance with special formatting rules. Organize your statements into sections and number each paragraph. Keep your sentences clear and concise.
Step 2: Include all the vital information
Take time to organize your thoughts and make sure that nothing is left behind. Start with composing a detailed outline in order to include every minor detail in your affidavit. Your document should be precise and descriptive to bring maximum use in legal proceedings.
Step 3: Establish a title
The title of your affidavit should convey the essence of the document. The optimal approach would be to indicate your name and the purpose or type of the affidavit. For instance,
“Financial Affidavit of <Name>.”
Step 4: Set up an identity statement
The necessary compound of the affidavit is an appropriate self-identification. You should provide the essential information about yourself in several sentences. Include your name, age, place of work, and address.
Step 5: Confirm truthfulness
A legal document, an affidavit must contain the part where you certify that all the listed statements are true and accurate. Therefore, you should add a sentence where you affirm your honesty. Thus, you can declare that the information in the affidavit is true to the best of your knowledge and understanding.
Step 6: Include all the pertinent facts
Think of all the relevant facts you need to share with the court. This section must be detailed enough, though you should make it clear and readable. Make sure that you include even minor details. However, you should remember about the proper structure and concise presentation. Split your text into paragraphs and use short sentences to get your point through.
Step 7: Sign and notarize your affidavit
After you have composed your affidavit, it’s time to legalize it. The process requires your signature in the presence of a notary public. The notary acts as a witness and certifies that you signed the statement voluntarily.
At PandaDoc, you can notarize your affidavit forms online. Our notary is state approved for remote online notarization.
Who signs an Affidavit Form?
The individual who composes a sworn statement, called an affiant, must be the one who signs the document. In most cases, an affiant should be above 18 years; however, minors can also sign an affidavit in some situations. If a person is mentally incapacitated, a guardian can sign an affidavit on their behalf.
The document must be signed before a notary public or other officially designated officer of the court.
FAQ
What are affidavits?
An affidavit is an official document that contains the statement made under oath. Just like a court of law witness, an affiant swears that all the information outlined in the paper is correct. An affidavit incurs the same penalty of perjury; however, it is employed to attest to things beyond the courtroom as well.
What is an affidavit form?
An affidavit form is a written document that contains a sworn statement. An affiant gives an oath that all the information outlined in the affidavit is true to the best of their knowledge. An affidavit must be crafted voluntarily and can be used in various types of legal proceedings.
How to fill out an affidavit form?
Make your affidavit as clear and precise as possible. Follow several simple steps to ensure seamless completion.
- Compose a straightforward title for your affidavit;
- Outline the essential information about yourself;
- Establish a statement of truth;
- Include all the relevant facts;
- Check your text and revise it if needed;
- Sign and notarize your affidavit.
Do affidavit forms need to be notarized?
To make an affidavit legally binding, an affiant must sign and notarize it. Sign your document before a notary public or another official, who can also serve as a witness that you put your signature without coercion. If the statements in the affidavit appear to be untruthful, they get under a penalty of perjury.
Where can I get an affidavit form template?
Considering the numerous types of affidavits and the required sections many of them must contain to be valid, we at PandaDoc, collected a set of affidavit sample forms. You can download them for free and fill them out according to our recommendations. This way, you’ll minimize the risk of leaving out any important information.
How to write an affidavit template?
Our affidavit forms online are clear and easy to complete. Select your affidavit type from the available options, fill it out, download it, and share it according to your needs. Our handy online notarization service will allow you to legalize your document within several minutes. The whole process is transparent and reliable.