Quitclaim Deed Form

The Basics of a Quitclaim Deed

Real estate isn't for everyone, but once in a while, you get to buy or sell a house or land. In other cases, the only second major real estate transaction you engage in (the first one being buying that property) is transferring that property to a loved one or a trust for purposes estate planning. While you might not know much about real property transfers and processes, there is something you have to know before property changes hands - property deeds. You need to know the one to use, how and when.

In your case above, transferring real property to a loved one or even trust, a quitclaim deed is exactly what you need.

What is a quit claim deed?

A quitclaim deed, also a quitclaim deed form, non-warranty deed, or simply a quitclaim is a legally binding instrument that facilitates the conveyance of real property from one person or entity to another. It's mistakenly referred to as a quick claim deed form – perhaps because of its efficiency. This deed recognizes two main parties: the grantor and the grantee. The grantor is the party transferring or quitting their rights in property while the grantee is the recipient of those property rights.

Note, however, that despite the property rights' transfer facilitation, the quitclaim deed doesn't provide why warranties on the title. What this means is that the grantor doesn’t assure the grantee of the property's title being free of liens or encumbrances, neither does it certify the grantor as the actual legal owner of the property under conveyance. Therefore, the quitclaim deed only transfers real property rights held by the grantor at the time of the deed's execution.

How does a quitclaim differ from a warranty deed?

While a quitclaim offers no warranties on title, the warranty deed offers complete or partial warranties on title. Regarding the level of warranty provided, there are two types of warranty deeds - general and special warranty deeds. The difference between these two deeds lies in the general warranty deed giving property buyers complete warranty over the property's ownership and that the title is clear of defects/issues. On the other hand, you have the special warranty deed which when used portrays the fact that grantor guarantees ownership while offering warranties for title only during the duration of their ownership; they offer no warranties on title before they owned the property they're quitting rights to.

So, given the risk involved with quitclaims, you might want to limit its use to property rights' conveyances between people you know/trust.

• Uses of the Quit claim Deed

• • Divorces and marriages – it’s common for newly married couples to transfer property rights between one another, one spouse would add their spouse’s name into their property’s title, creating shared ownership for that property. On the flipside, the use of the quitclaim is common with divorcing couples, especially when one spouse quits their interest in the marital property, voluntarily or after the court decrees so.

  • Families – a quitclaim could be used by parents transferring their property interests to their children. It could also be used in transfers between siblings or other close relatives.

  • Removing clouds on a title – this is common for title insurance. If your insurer finds an inconsistency that affects the chain of title for a property, they might ask you to create and execute a quitclaim to clear that cloud.

  • Transfer of ownership into a trust – in estate planning, one could use the quitclaim to transfer property rights to a trust.

  • You could also use the quitclaim deed to transfer the legal property ownership rights of an individual or an entity to a corporation or an LLC.

  • If you’ve changed your name from the time you got a title to a property, then you could use the quitclaim to effectuate the change.

How to Prepare a quitclaim deed

You have two options when it comes to the preparation of quitclaims – you could either start from scratch or you could take the easy road and prepare your quitclaim using a free quitclaim deed form as your templates. The available quitclaim deed pdf sample are often state-specific, and your only work is to populate the fields in the form with the necessary information.

• Some of the things that should be present in a quit claim deed form for validity include:

• • The signature of the grantor, as well as their full legal names, mailing address, and in some states, their marital status.

  • Having witnesses is an option, but only in some states

  • The grantee’s name, mailing address, vesting, and signature are also important

  • The deed should have the full legal description of the property

  • The grantor’s signature should be notarized.

  • Once signed and acknowledged, the deed should be delivered to the grantor.

  • Next, all deeds must be recorded with the county office’s public records in the county that the property on a conveyance is situated. Recording is important to give constructive notice to the public and interested third parties. Unrecorded quitclaims are not valid against any other recorded quitclaims by subsequent bona fide purchasers acting in good faith.

• Precautions

• • A quit claim deed does not release you from liability for property such as mortgage debts.

  • A last will uncovered after a quitclaim is recorded is invalid.

Wondering where can I get a quit claim deed form? Well, our state-specific blank quitclaim deed form is available for download just for you, regardless of the state your property is located.

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