quit claim deed

A quitclaim deed is a term used to describe a document by which a person (the "grantor") disclaims any interest in a piece of real estate and passes that claim to another person.

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.