Quit Claim Deed

What is a Quit Claim Deed?

Purchasing a real estate property such as a house involves the submission of several legal documents. These documents are vital to legitimize the transaction between the two parties. One of the important papers that a seller may be required to submit to the buyer is a quit claim deed.

A quit claim deed refers to a document executed by a person to show that he or she gives up any interest to a piece of property. The person executing this document is called a grantor while the individual to whom the interest to the property is being passed is known as the grantee. The act also guarantees that the title to the property is free from any issues.

Oftentimes, a quit claim deed is executed when a property is transferred between family members. This is done when a person gives a real estate property as a gift to another family member.

One of the most common situations where this document is required is when married couples divorce. As divorce entails division of conjugal properties, a spouse may execute a quit claim deed to surrender his or her interest to the property such as their house and grant the full rights to the other spouse. A typical situation as well is if the wife owned a house before marriage in which case the husband will have to come up with the deed as proof that he quits any claim to that piece of property.

Still another situation where the quit claim deed can be used is when siblings decide to sell the home they inherited from their parent or grandparent. As brothers and sisters in this case share ownership rights to the property, they need to submit a quit claim deed to show to the buyer they are giving up their interest to the house concerned.

It should be understood, however, that executing a quit claim deed does not necessarily give full ownership rights to the grantee. Should there be other people with an interest in the property who failed to sign the deed, their ownership rights to that property still remains.

If you are planning to submit this type of deed, you need to obtain a legal description of the property first. Then get a standard quit claim deed form. This should depend on the state where you reside.

When filling out the form, write legibly and make sure that there are no errors in spelling and facts about the property. From there, you can then add the name of the grantee to the title. If there are other existing owners, write their names as grantees as well but do not include your name.

The present owners of the property should be listed as grantors and remember to get their signatures. A notary public should witness the signing of the quit claim deed. Then have the document notarized and ensure to make photocopies for your own files.

Once signed and notarized, the deed should be recorded at the office of the country clerk and recorded. You may need to pay a small fee to do this.

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