Free Arizona Quitclaim Deed Form


How Does the Quitclaim Deed in Arizona Work?

If you own property and would like to gift it to your loved one without asking them to pay a thing while granting them all your rights or interests to the property, you both have to sign a quitclaim deed. In this document, you are expressing and making official your intentions to convey all your rights to the named property to the other person. And if the real property in question is shared between you and another, then the party you are conveying your interests to will be the new co-owner of the property. A quitclaim deed in Arizona acknowledges the transfer of rights to the property. As the person transferring your rights to a property, the law regards you as the grantor while the person who’s granted the rights/ interests is the grantee.

What is a quitclaim deed?

To clear the air, a quitclaim deed, often misspelled quit claim deed or a quick claim deed is a legal document used in the transfer of ownership rights and interests from a grantor to a grantee. It is also called a quitclaim, a non-warranty deed or a quitclaim deed form.

The Limitations of the Quitclaim

Despite its use in the transfer of your interests in property, the document comes with various limitations. Among them, the absence of a warranty for the property’s title; which means that the grantor is not guaranteeing that they own the property or that they have the right to convey ownership to the grantee. Note that the absence of guarantees is the reason why this document is also referred to as a non-warranty deed.

Unfortunately, this is not the only limitation of the quitclaim. The other limitations to be aware of before you sign the deed include:

It’s not a guarantee of the property’s title – Insurance companies require title as a guarantee for real estate and other real estate transactions. Unfortunately, this document is not a guarantee to be used as the title for the property

It doesn’t change the details of the mortgage – While you could use the quitclaim to release your interests in a property to your spouse, mortgaged property purchased by you and your spouse will still carry both your names meaning that you both remain liable for any debt on the property.

It doesn’t supersede the last will – The deed has no protection to you or the person you transfer your interests in the property to. Why? Because if you transfer your interests to someone else but have your name included as the owner/ co-owner of the property in a will, the rights to the property revert to you.

The statute of limitations – even though state laws differ, some states honor the deed for a specific duration.

The community property laws could supersede the document – In some states, the court could, under its community laws decide that the transfer is unfair or that the grantor acted under duress.

Difference between the Warranty Deed and the Quitclaim deed

Despite their use in real estate property interests’ transfers, the quitclaim does not offer any guarantees, warranty, or protection to grantees. On the other hand, the warranty deed is the full package offering warranty and guarantees for its use.

The quitclaim lacks a warranty of title; the legal guarantee from the transferor to the transferee that the property whose ownership is transferred has no title issues like prior undisclosed conveyances, unknown liens, public record errors, or boundary disputes, among other issues.

It, therefore, means that when you sign the quitclaim form, you are providing zero warranty and if it later turns out that there was an issue with the property, the grantee will be out of luck. Signing the quitclaim means that you are accepting that property “as is” and you cannot sue the grantor for not conveying the property in question with a title.

Keep in mind that the quitclaim is also different from the special warranty deed form, the general warranty deed form, the life estate deed, and the beneficiary deed form.

  • Uses of the quitclaim

    • Gifting or giving up your interests in a property.

    • Clearing of clouded titles

    • Recognizing a gift in the form or real property

    • Settling boundary disputes

    • Relinquishing property rights in marital real estate

    • Removing a name from a deed, in divorces

How to Create your Quitclaim in Arizona

The first step involves downloading a free Arizona quitclaim deed form online. Fortunately, this is the easy part because there are several free deed templates, blank documents, and samples online. To be on the safe side, download a printable PDF free deed form from a reputable site.

Below are the statutory requirements you should meet for a valid quitclaim.

  • The document must clearly outline its role as a document used for the transfer of the owner’s rights/ interests in a property if any. The transfer could include a consideration (if any).

    • The deed should be in writing

    • It must have a heading to identify the purpose of the document

    • The state prefers original forms although legible copies are acceptable

    • Original signatures of the grantor and the grantee. In the absence of the grantor, the deed must bear the original signature of an authorized agent.

    • The deed must be acknowledged/ certified at the notary public or in front of any other authorized officer of the law.

    • If the deed is used to indicate ownership change, previously recorded information like docket, date, and page must be included

    • Accurate description of the property

    • Name and mailing addresses of the grantor and the grantee.

    • Vesting statement outlining how the grantee wants to hold the title of the property

    • Type and amount of consideration exchanged

Following the notice recording act in the 33-411 statutory provision, the property conveyance should be recorded for the transfer to be deemed complete. The recording is the role of the grantor, and this should take place within 60 days of the property transfer.

If you wish to convey your rights to property as part of your rental lease agreement, we recommend that you download and use a free quitclaim deed form. Our free deed forms are accessible online in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tucson, Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, Sedona or any other city in Arizona.