Affidavit Format: Definition of Affidavit – Affidavit Forms – Affidavit Types – Affidavit Templates

An Affidavit is a declaration of a piece of information that is made by an affiant under oath in front of an oath commissioner.

Wondering what exactly ‘’under oath’’ means? That is an official commitment proof that can be utilized in court or in another official platform such as banks or can also be used for several purposes. Such official platforms declare the information via your statement that relates to personal recognition.

Following are other names for Affidavit:

• Testimony
• Sworn statement
• Oath
• Affirmation
• Notarized Statement

Usually, An affidavit is used by a person to:

• Validates the information such as their identity or explanation.
• Presenting proof in any court case such as an explanation of an incident that relates to a car accident.

Definition of the Statutory Declaration

It is close to an affidavit which authorizes the declarant that signs a statutory declaration to put forward the statement they consider to be true. Although, Statutory declaration is usually used apart from the court that submits the statements or documents to the particular government organizations unlike affidavit as Affidavits are used within the courts or other official places as well.

Following are other names of Statutory declaration:

• Statutory Declaration Form
• Stat Dec
• Declaration
• Affirmation

Reasons for an affidavit:

Affidavits are mainly used to check the certainty of the statement. Following are the examples that can be used to:

• Informing the third party of passing away before a formal death certificate is collected.
• Notifying you’re the area you reside or your home address.
• Validating your identity in the proceeding that you have used a different name that was on your birth card.
• Certify your financial statuses such as your assets and outstanding payments etc of personal or business.
• Notify if your identity in any case due to your compromised personal information.
• Certify that you own the died kin’s asset.
• Also, justify that you are a third party provided another individual with documents such as divorce documents.

How can I draft an affidavit?

The following information should be in mind while creating an affidavit:

• Your identity, address, and signature
• Documents that need to verify for a third party or as a proof for a court case.
• Details of a court where the document needs to be submitted.
• Signature needed from registrar or commissioner for affirmation as a witness that you signed the document.

Can I attach documents to my Affidavit?

All the documents such as photographs, statements or that can prove the information added in Affidavit can be attached to it. Those are particularly considered as exhibits, you can attach them at the last of your documents. Usually, the pattern of attaching the documents is that labeling each attachment for better understanding such as name them Exhibit A, B, C, etc.

Who is authorized to sign an Affidavit?

The person who signs the affidavit (affiant) should be healthy and have mental stability and capable of understanding the statement written in an affidavit and the circumstances of perjury or swearing for the in the document. 

Also, the person who signs the affidavit should be 18+ age in some cases. There is no minimum age demand yet, in some situations a particular age is required to promise an affidavit such as in a family law proceeding.

What is the fine for disobeying on an Affidavit?

Affidavit depends on an individual who is submitting true statements as an affirmation that is the reason the court considers this act very seriously.  The violation of the clauses written in an affidavit may result in punishments accordingly as all the affidavits are legally binding documents.

It is punishable if there is any lie in the documents. There are some charges for such acts yet in extreme levels of cases, it can also be considered perjury which is a criminal act. Hence it can cause an individual to get jailed.

Following are the Affidavit Types

There are various types of affidavits required for different purposes. Here’s a complete list of a few common types of affidavits:

• Affidavit of Loss: The affidavit of loss allows you to legally report the loss of a document such as a license, passport, ID, or others.
• Affidavit of Small Estate: allows you to handle the ‘small estate matters’ of a deceased individual who died without writing a will.
• Affidavit of Death: allows you to establish that a certain individual is dead, in case, you haven’t obtained a death certificate yet.
• Affidavit of Residence: allows you to verify your residential address to establish that you live at a particular place or address.
• Affidavit of Heirship: allows you to distribute the assets of a deceased individual among the right heirs.
• Affidavit of Name Change: allows you to change your name legally particularly in case of a marriage or divorce.
• Affidavit of Support: allows you to prove that a financially strong person will support you so that you don’t become a burden on the government, for instance, for the purpose of immigration.
• Financial Affidavit: allows the court to decide child support, distribution of property or any other assets in case of a divorce.
• Divorce Affidavit: An affidavit of divorce is filed if an affiant wishes to call off their marriage legally.
• Affidavit of Service: allows you to verify that you’ve delivered the specified paperwork to another individual.
• Affidavit of Identity Theft: allows you to swear regarding the unauthentic utilization of your personal information.
• Affidavit of Marriage: allows you to verify your marital status for the purpose of health insurance, visa, passport, etc.