Suppose for some reason you had to transfer your property; in a divorce, for a gift, to satisfy a tax lien, or just because you didn’t want it anymore. Then you would need to file a Quick Claim Deed or “Quit Claim” deed.
Here’s how it works:
- Get an appropriate form according to your state. You should actually ask for a “Quick Claim Deed Form” or a Quitclaim Deed Form to avoid confusion.
- Fill out the names of the people you want to transfer the property to.
- Put a legal description of the property on the form. Legal descriptions can be obtained from the property appraiser’s office.
- Sign and get the form notarized. Some states do not require a notarized form, but may require a certain number of witnesses to sign the form.
- Record the deed at your county recording office. You may have to pay for Documentary Stamps and Recording Fees.
There are no such promises in a Quick Claim. The real reason for transferring property in a Quitclaim is to avoid liabilities, by conveying or transferring rights to property. With this kind of transfer each partner in the agreement should understand they are getting what they see, and if there are problems these difficulties belong to the current person who owns the property.
Typically this document is used when a property isn’t sold, as when the owner dies and bequeaths it, when a spouse is added to the title, or when a former spouse’s name is removed from the title. It says that “I am transferring what I own to you.” When considering this type of action a lawyer and insurance contracts should be involved in the procedure to protect all involved.
Mortgages can’t be transferred via this agreement because they are legal obligations. The responsibility for the mortgage can be handed over to someone else through other legal means, but it can’t be unilaterally transferred through the Quick Claim process.
You can stay in or on the property you Quitclaim by filing for a “Life Estate,” where you can retain interest in the property until you die, and then the property would immediately be transferred to the person on the other end of the claim.
This legal agreement can only be reversed by the having the grantee claim the property back to the original owner.
As with any transaction involving property it is always a good idea to obtain legal counsel before filing a Quick Claim deed, and that counsel should be able to guide you through the process and protect everyone’s rights through the transfer.