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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

Does that process works for Automotive property?
Posted on: 16th Jan, 2007 07:27 am
Olga, quit claim deeds are used for transfer of interest anybody has over any land property to another person. You can not use it for automotive property transfer.

Colin
Posted on: 16th Jan, 2007 09:37 am
I am a non US resident owning property in Florida. I want to avoid Estate Tax which in my case kicks in at $60,000. I was going to use an LLC or a living trust to transfer ownership to but I will have to pay Docs stamps at 70 cents per $100 of the value of the outstanding morgage. Any idead please
Posted on: 16th Jan, 2007 09:43 am
If I signed a quit claim deed, would I be able to get the property in the case of a divorce?
Posted on: 16th Jan, 2007 12:05 pm
Hi Karen,

Whether you would get the property at the time of divorce will depend upon the court to decide. It will take into consideration various factors while deciding how the property should get divided between you two or to be given to anyone of you.

David
Posted on: 16th Jan, 2007 12:10 pm
Chris, I think you will have to pay the doc stamp fees as per property laws in Florida. If the property was clear of any mortgage lien then you were not required to pay them at the time of transfer into a living trust.
Posted on: 16th Jan, 2007 12:15 pm
Olga, quit claim deeds are used to convey interest in real property. It cannot be used for transfer of automotive property.
Posted on: 16th Jan, 2007 08:54 pm
Hi Chris,

Welcome to our forums.

A non-resident in the US is subjected to the estate tax on his property or gross estate which includes real estate located within United States, stocks held in United States, US debt obligations, and tangible personal property located within the United States. The estate taxes are due upon his death.

Usually the first $60,000 of the estate owned by the non-resident is exempt from the estate taxes. Thereafter the taxes are charged on the assets at rates up to 50%.

However, if the decedent at his death transfers the estate outright or in a qualified trust, or through some other arrangement to a surviving spouse, then the US government will not charge any estate tax on the estate at the death of first spouse.

If the surviving spouse is not a resident of the United States, the decedent can avoid the estate tax by transferring his estate to the surviving spouse as a qualified domestic trust during his lifetime or at his death.

The non-resident may also have to pay estate tax charged by the local and state government in addition to the local; and state governments.

Transferring your estate to the trust is necessary, and in return of that if you have to pay for the doc stamps, then that's fine. After all you will be able to avoid estate tax.

Thanks,

Caron.
Posted on: 16th Jan, 2007 09:51 pm
Karen, if you and your spouse come to an informal agreement after divorce, and your spouse is willing to give you the property, then you can use a quit claim deed for the transfer. Otherwise, if there is any court action, then you can use the quit claim as per the notification in the divorce decree.
Posted on: 16th Jan, 2007 09:58 pm
I am curious if the quick claim deed removes the grantor from any sort of monetary obligations. For instance, once the deed is finished and filed, will the property (house), show up as debt (since the house is not paid for in full) on the grantor's credit?
Posted on: 17th Jan, 2007 09:07 am
Hi Bradley,

"I am curious if the quick claim deed removes the grantor from any sort of monetary obligations. For instance, once the deed is finished and filed, will the property (house), show up as debt (since the house is not paid for in full) on the grantor's credit?"

Quit claim deed transfers property title from one person to another but has no affect on any debt liability the grantor has over the property like a mortgage. Even after quit claiming the house to someone else grantor remains liable for the mortgage and it shows up on his credit report until it is paid off or refinanced in the name of any other person.

David
Posted on: 17th Jan, 2007 09:56 am
My mother quit claimed her home to me and my brother. We need to sell her home to take care of her and want to know if we do sell it, and there is money left over, will it affect her continuing to receive her medicare/medicaid. We don't want her to lose that.
Posted on: 17th Jan, 2007 09:59 am
Hi Kilah Galvin,

Welcome to Mortgagefit discussion board.

Please go through this page to see the responses given by others to your question: http://www.mortgagefit.com/know-how/quitclaimedhomevsmedicaid.html .

Thanks
Blue
Posted on: 17th Jan, 2007 10:22 am
Hi Bradley,

Welcome to the forum.

The quit claim deed does not remove the grantor from his debt obligations. The deed only allows him to convey his ownership rights on property to the grantee.

You may check out our previous discussion on Can quit claim transfer mortgage debt for further knowledge.

Feel free to come up with further questions.

God bless you.

Samantha
Posted on: 18th Jan, 2007 04:19 am
is there a fee to do a quick claim deed?
Posted on: 20th Jan, 2007 06:26 pm
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