Free Wisconsin Quitclaim Deed Form

Things You Should Know about the Quitclaim Deed in Wisconsin

If you’d like to quitclaim your rights in real property to a relative, here is something you should know – you must follow the set regulations. Primarily, the regulations call for the use of a real estate deed. The real estate deeds legitimize the transfer of property rights. One of the most popular real estate deeds, the one you’ll need to transfer property to your relative is a quitclaim deed.

A quitclaim deed is the legal tool that’s used to transfer rights in property/ ownership (the legal rights to own/ control property) from one person (grantor) to another. Despite facilitating the transfer, this tool does not provide any guarantees or warranties. The grantor doesn’t guarantee whether there exist other claims on the property, or not. This deed doesn’t also provide any ownership guarantees and is said only to facilitate the transfer of interests held by the grantor at the time of the property’s conveyance. This deed also goes by the legal name non-warranty deed or a simplified version of the name, a quitclaim. Now, if you’ve called this deed a quick claim deed before, know that you’ve been using the incorrect name for too long.

How does a quitclaim differ from other real estate deeds?

Apart from the quitclaim, the other popular property deed is the warranty deed. The warranty deed is classified into two – general and special warranty deeds.

While a quitclaim facilitates the transfer of property ownership without warranties, the warranty deed (depending on the type) facilitates the transfer of property rights, and it also gives warranty on the ownership and the property title. The difference between the two warranty deeds is that while the general warranty offers 100% percent guarantee that the grantor is the actual owner of the property and that the property’s title has no defects in its entire history, the special warranty deed gives limited guarantees. The guarantee offered by a general deed only extends to the time that the grantor owned the property, and not before.

Types of property ownership created by the Wisconsin quit claim Deed

• There are different types of property ownership styles present in the state of Wisconsin including sole ownership and co-ownership. Under co-ownership, the main forms of property ownership include joint tenancies, tenancy in common, and tenancy by entirety.

• • Sole Ownership

• In this property ownership style, the person named on a deed is the exclusive owner of the property meaning that no one else besides this property owner has interests in that property.

• • Joint Tenancy

• This tenancy arrangement is common between two or even more tenants sharing equal interests in one real property. Though it’s been abolished in some states, joint tenancy is common with spouses who buy property as one entity. Under this ownership style, the death of one party means the passing of the rights of the decedent to the surviving tenants rather than heirs or beneficiaries. In other states, however, joint tenancy agreements are severed when one tenant passes, meaning the surviving tenants don’t have any rights of survivorship.

• • Tenancy in Common

• In this ownership style, there are at least two people interested in a property. It works like a joint tenancy, for the most part, except that when one of the property owners dies, the interests of the decedent transfer to their heirs. It lacks survivorship rights.

• • Tenancy by Entirety

This tenancy arrangement is common with spouses, and property interests are held as a single entity. This is one of the most common property ownership methods created by quitclaims when a spouse transfers property rights to their partner after marriage, and the property becomes theirs rather than his or hers. The upside of this ownership style is that when one spouse passes away, the surviving spouse becomes the sole owner of the property, and no probate is involved.

Creating a quitclaim deed

• If you’re ready to prepare a quitclaim deed in Wisconsin, you have to download a free Wisconsin quitclaim deed form. This form is a printable pdf template that will guide you. The form ensures that your deed meets the statutory requirements as prescribed in code section 706.02 (1) of Wisconsin’s Annotated Statutes. They include:

• • That the deed must bear the signature of the grantor for its execution

  • And if the deed is used in the transfer of homestead and it alienates the interests of the grantor’s spouse, the deed has to be signed by the grantor’s spouse for execution. The alternative would be the use of a separate conveyance deed for each spouse.

  • For the deed’s recording/ acceptance by the Register of Deeds, it must meet the set requirements for standardization.

  • These standardization requirements applicable to the recording of a quitclaim include the fact that the deed will have a priority over later quitclaim recordings for that estate.

  • Note, however, that failure to record a quitclaim makes the deed invalid/ void to be used by any other subsequent purchasers acting in good faith, having paid a valuable consideration for the property. If this happens, the deed recorded with the county registrar first will be prioritized. This happens because the state follows the race-notice system of recording. This recordation act doesn’t create any criminal penalties for unrecorded deeds.

Would you like to legally transfer real residential rental property in Green Bay, Madison, Milwaukee, Appleton, Racine, La Crosse, or any other city in Wisconsin? Get started today with our free Wisconsin quitclaim deed form.