subject: Quitclaim Deeds [print this page] Quitclaim Deeds Quitclaim Deeds
Quitclaim Deeds
What is it?
A quitclaim deed is a legal document by which a person (the grantor') releases any interest the grantor may have in a piece of real property to another person (the grantee'). This allows the owner to sign over all ownership and financial interests in a real property without stating the nature of the grantor's interest or rights, and without warranties of ownership. The grantor may not be on the title at all, so the grantee cannot assume that the grantor has any real interest to convey. This is an important limitation to the quitclaim deed. Because it only transfers the rights that the grantor has in the property, it does not guarantee that the property is the grantees outright. If others with an interest in the property have not signed the deed, then their rights are unaffected by this document they still retain their ownership. Whilea quitclaim deed neither warrants nor professes that the grantor's claim is valid, it does prevent the grantor from later claiming they have an interest in the property. In most cases, the signed form is a simple and effective way to give up all interest in a real property.
When to use it?
The most common use for a quitclaim deed is a divorce in which one spouse is granting the other full rights to, and eliminating any interest in, a property in which both parties held an interest. If a husband and wife own a home and divorce, and the wife acquires the home in the decree, the husband would enact a quitclaim deed to eliminate interest in the property.
Quitclaim deeds are sometimes used for transfers between family members, gifts, placing personal property into a business entity, to eliminate clouds on title, or in other special circumstances. A person planning for an estate or a living trust can use a quitclaim deed to transfer ownership of the property into a trust.
Quitclaim deeds are also typically provided in cases of tax deed sales where property is auctioned off to pay outstanding tax debt. While a property is purchased, at closing the interest is transferred from the auctioneer to the buyer through this deed. The auctioning body is usually a local government, which claims no interest in the property whatsoever, but is selling it only to recover the back taxes.
