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Quitclaim Deed: A Document that transfers property-interest

Posted on: 05th Jun, 2005 10:42 pm
A quitclaim deed is a legal document that transfers your interest to another individual in the property such as
  • House - A building for human habitation
  • Land - A place which can be used for habitation, investment or any other purpose
  • Mobile home - A movable house that is parked in a place
Two parties are there in a quitclaim deed process – grantor and grantee. Grantor is the party that transfers the property and the grantee is the party that gets the property. In a quitclaim deed, no promises are made by the grantor that the property is lien-free. Before opting for this deed, it is advised that the grantor should consult an attorney and know about the possible consequences of such property transfer.

To help you get a clear idea of what a quitclaim deed (often misspelled as quick claim deeds or quit claim deeds) is, the whole information is divided into different sections:

When to use quitclaim deed

A quitclaim deed is commonly used in the following situations:

  1. In a divorce, when an ex-spouse transfers ownership of the property to the other.
  2. A spouse may add other spouse's name to the property title after marriage only by issuing the spouse a deed.
  3. At the time of purchasing a property, ownership is transferred from the seller to the buyer. For such transfer, parties involved may use a quitclaim, general warranty, or special warranty deed.
  4. Sometimes, previous owner of the property may retain some ownership interest in the property. This interest can be transferred to the new owner with the help of a quitclaim deed.
  5. A person planning a will or a living trust can use the document to transfer ownership of the property into a trust or the person they want to inherit the property.
  6. Parents willing to transfer the ownership in a property to a child or a relative before the property gets stuck in a probate.

6 Steps to follow in a quit claim deed

Preparing a quitclaim deed is very easy. Here are some quick steps to do so.

  1. First of all, obtain a quit claim deed form. You can get the form online. You can also obtain it from the office of the local county recorder.
  2. Fill in the names of the grantor and the grantee. If possible address of both the parties has to be filled in.
  3. Signature of the grantor should be there in the form. In some states, signatures of both the grantor and the grantee are required.
  4. A public notary should verify the signature of the grantor. Generally, the grantor has to sign the deed in front of a public notary.
  5. A legal description of the property is a must. This is because of the fact that without the legal description, deed can’t be recorded in the recorder’s office.
  6. In order to make the deed valid, it should be recorded in the recorder’s office.

Life estates and quitclaim deeds

Even after transferring a property through quitclaim, you can have the right to stay there till your death. This is possible only if you retain a life estate for yourself. A life estate is a kind of estate where you retain interest in the property for your lifetime, and specifically name the person to whom the property is to go to immediately after your death.

Reverse/undo quitclaim

Once you have signed a quitclaim, the only way to get the property back is to have the grantee quitclaim it back to you or prove the transfer was invalid. If you can prove that you signed the deed under threat, external pressure, or the grantee made you sign by telling you false information, then you can have the quitclaim deed invalidated. For invalidating a deed, consult an attorney in your state. Learn more...

This legal document is a good way to transfer property if you are transferring it between family. The best way to transfer property to or from someone who is not family is to use a general or special warranty deed which gives the buyer warranties as well as transfers property.

Related Readings

Related Forum Discussions

How hard is it to prove quit claim fraud? My mother in law died last week. She had a will that was in a safe in the house, she had just told me and several other people that nothing had changed on the will. My father in law had died in 1981 and she remarried 7 years later. The marriage has not been a good one. We found out that in 2003 after she had back surgery there was a quit claim deed filed transferring owner ship of the house and property to her new husband. She would never had done this knowingly. She had just told me 3 weeks before her death that my husband and his sister are to get the property. So if she had knowingly signed this deed she would have said so. My daughter was in her hospital room one day when he came in and had her sign something and she asked what it was and he said it was so he could pay all her bills while she was in the hospital. They had separate checking accounts so this didn't seem like an unreasonable request to her. But it seems that it was this deed. She was on pain meds at the time.
Posted on: 10th Mar, 2007 07:44 pm
Welcome Freddie,

I can understand what you must have gone through. Hope your mother's soul rests in peace.

Regarding your query, I cannot say whether it was your mother's new husband who had committed fraud and made her sign the deed just to get the property in his name.

I think you should consult an attorney immediately and take legal action against the person if he is at all guilty.

Thanks.
Posted on: 12th Mar, 2007 05:13 am
Freddie, it is difficult to prove that there was a fraud done.

"As far as I know the deed is required to be signed by the grantor (mother-in-law) in front of the notary public in order for the deed to be recorded."

But you are saying that she signed the deed in the hospital. As helping user said it will best to hire a lawyer and discuss all the points and how you would be able to prove them.

Downey
Posted on: 12th Mar, 2007 01:38 pm
if there are multiple people listed on a life estate deed and the mortgage payor is removed and the remaining people take over the mortgage. Could the original homeowner have been able to sell the home while the mortgage was listed in their name and they were removed from the life estate deed?


I need this answer as soon as possible. I would appreciate it.

thanks
Kelly
Posted on: 16th Mar, 2007 12:17 pm
Hi Kelly,

Welcome to forums.

First of all, it is not easy to remove a mortgage payer from the deed. You need to take permission of the lender and also talk to the payer. I am not sure but just guessing that the mortgage payer is the original homeowner.

Now if the homeowner is removed from the deed, how can he sell the property later on. He longer has ownership rights on the property.

I am a bit confused when you once say that the mortgage payer is to be removed and again mention that the other people will be removed. Please clarify this part of your query. This will help me and may be others to give further suggestions.

Thanks,
James.
Posted on: 16th Mar, 2007 10:31 pm
When there is a life estate on property, neither the grantor (the original homeowner) nor the grantee can sell the property. The grantor can stay in the property till he dies.

The grantee takes over the entire ownership rights after the death of the grantor. The grantor cannot sell property without the consent of the grantee.
Posted on: 16th Mar, 2007 10:53 pm
WHAT WEB SIGHT CAN I LOOK ON TO GET A COPY OF A QUICK CLAIM DEED
Posted on: 30th Mar, 2007 10:32 am
CAN A QUICK CLAIM DEED BE WRITTEN AND ONLY BE NOTIRIZED, WILL THIS BE LEGAL ENOUGH
Posted on: 30th Mar, 2007 10:34 am
Hi,
"WHAT WEB SIGHT CAN I LOOK ON TO GET A COPY OF A QUICK CLAIM DEED "
You can use this common quit claim deed form: http://www.wsba.org/info/x-12c.pdf

kim long
Posted on: 30th Mar, 2007 11:31 am
Welcome Guest,

What is the name of your state? I am asking this because it will help me to find out a quit claim deed form for your state in particular.
Posted on: 30th Mar, 2007 07:59 pm
I live in Michigan. I want to file a quick claim, but I can't seem to find any forms here on line. Can you tell me where to go?
Posted on: 09th May, 2007 09:56 am
Hi,

You can use the general quit claim deed form given on the page kim long provided link for in his post earlier.

Miller
Posted on: 09th May, 2007 05:36 pm
We own a house with a loan on it. We want to sell 50% ownership to our son using a quick claim deed. My son will then get a loan and pay us our share so we can pay off the existing loan. He will live in the house and make the payments.
We can't seem to find anything that tells us how to go about doing this because the house is in my wife's and my name. If we just add his name
to the title it will look like he only owns a thrid, right? Any information you can give us will be greatly appreciated
Posted on: 16th May, 2007 10:52 am
Hi Jkc,

Welcome to Mortgagefit discussion board.

On the quit claim deed you can mention how the title ownership is to be divided, ie, you can mention that your son will hold half share of the house and rest half will be held by you & your wife.

Do let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks
Blue
Posted on: 17th May, 2007 01:43 pm
Can my mom add me to the title of her home so that in case of her death my name is listed as an owner?
Posted on: 23rd May, 2007 09:48 am
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