Quitclaim deed

Property law

Part of the common law series

Acquisition

Gift · Adverse possession · Deed Conquest · Discovery · Treasure Trove Lost, mislaid, and abandoned property Alienation · Bailment · License

Estates in land

Allodial title · Fee simple · Fee tail Life estate · Defeasible estate Future interest · Concurrent estate Leasehold estate · Condominiums

Conveyancing

Bona fide purchaser Torrens title · Strata title Estoppel by deed · Quitclaim deed Mortgage · Equitable conversion Action to quiet title · Escheat

Future use control

Restraint on alienation Rule against perpetuities Rule in Shelley's Case Doctrine of worthier title

Nonpossessory interest

Easement · Profit Covenant running with the land Equitable servitude

Related topics

Fixtures · Waste · Partition Riparian water rights Lateral and subjacent support Assignment · Nemo dat Property and conflict of laws

Other common law areas

Contract law · Tort law Wills, trusts and estates Criminal law · Evidence

v • d • e

A quitclaim deed is a term used to describe a document by which a person (the "grantor") disclaims any interest the grantor may have in a piece of real property and passes that claim to another person (the grantee). A quitclaim deed neither warrants nor professes that the grantor's claim is valid. By contrast, the deeds normally used for real estate sales (called grant deeds or warranty deeds, depending on the jurisdiction) contain guarantees from the grantor to the grantee that the title is clear. The exact nature of the warranties varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Quitclaim deeds are sometimes used for transfers between family members, gifts, placing personal property into a business entity, or to eliminate clouds on title, or in other special or unusual circumstances.

The most common use for a quit claim deed is, in a divorce situation, where one party 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 quit claim deed to eliminate interest in the property. The husband's name would remain on the loan and he would be financially responsible or liable if the wife were to default on the property. However, he would have no interest in the property—if the wife sold the property, the husband would have no claim to money gained from the sale. Another example of a circumstance where a quitclaim may be used is where one spouse is disclaiming any interest in property that the other spouse owns.

Quitclaim deeds are also typically provided in cases of tax deed sales where property is auctioned off to pay outstanding tax debt. 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.

See also

• Harper v. Paradise