Generally, a quitclaim is a formal renunciation of a legal claim against some other person, or of a right to land. A person who quitclaims renounces or relinquishes a claim to some legal right, or transfers a legal interest in land. Originally a

common-law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prec ...

concept dating back to Medieval England, the expression is in modern times mostly restricted to North American law, where it often refers specifically to a transfer of ownership or some other interest in

real property In English common law, real property, real estate, immovable property or, solely in the US and Canada, realty, refers to parcels of land and any associated structures which are the property of a person. For a structure (also called an Land i ...

. Commonly, quitclaims are used in situations where a ''

grantor A grant, in law, is a transfer of property, generally from a person or other entity giving the property (the grantor) to a person or entity receiving the property (the grantee). Historically, a grant was a transfer by deed of that which could not ...

'' transfers any interest they have in property to a recipient (the ''

grantee A grant, in law, is a transfer of property, generally from a person or other entity giving the property (the grantor) to a person or entity receiving the property (the grantee). Historically, a grant was a transfer by deed of that which could not ...

'') but without offering any guarantee as to the extent of that interest. There may even be no guarantee that the grantor owns the property or has any legal interest in it whatsoever. Specific situations where a precise definition of the grantor's interest (if any) may be unnecessary include property transferred as a gift, to a family member, or into a business entity. Another typical use is where there was a previous assignment that is under some question, and a subsequent assignment "quitclaims" the same property to the same grantee, on terms that perfect the possible defect (without conceding that the defect exists, and with no warranty that the grantor has any residual interest to transfer). The

legal instrument Legal instrument is a law, legal term of art that is used for any formally executed written document that can be formally attributed to its author, records and formally expresses a legally enforceable act, process, or contractual duty, obligation ...

by which the transfer is effected may be known as a quitclaim deed or a quitclaim agreement. Details of the instrument itself, and the typical circumstances of use, vary by U.S. state.

History

The

common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

concept of quitclaim dates back to medieval England. Its purpose was to provide a straightforward way for a tenant or other person in actual possession of some land to acquire additional rights in it from some other person. For example, a tenant in possession might acquire a

fee simple In English law, a fee simple or fee simple absolute is an estate in land, a form of freehold ownership. A "fee" is a vested, inheritable, present possessory interest in land. A "fee simple" is real property held without limit of time (i.e., pe ...

in the land from a superior landowner such as a freeholder. In such a case, the use of quitclaim circumvented the multistep process of the tenant having to formally give up possession to the original freeholder, merely in order to be re-granted possession by

feoffment In the Middle Ages, especially under the European feudal system, feoffment or enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service. This mechanism was later used to avoid restrictions on the passage of t ...

as freeholder in their own right. Quitclaim may originally have been an oral transaction, but by the thirteenth century a formal sealed document or court record had become necessary. A famous early example is the Quitclaim of Canterbury of 1189, by which

Richard I Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199), known as Richard the Lionheart or Richard Cœur de Lion () because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior, was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ru ...

reversed the Treaty of Falaise, transferring his claims on Scotland to

William the Lion William the Lion (), sometimes styled William I (; ) and also known by the nickname ; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Alba from 1165 to 1214. His almost 49 ...

In United States law

In most arms-length

transactions, such as a house sale, it is normal for the seller or

to warrant that they actually own the property or the interest in it that they are purporting to transfer. But a quitclaim deed contains no such warranty, and the

is entitled only to whatever interest the grantor actually possesses at the time. Indeed, a quitclaim deed may offer the grantee no warranty at all regarding the status of the property's title (ownership), and there may be no guarantee that the grantor owns an interest in the property at all. Because of the lack of warranty, quitclaim deeds are most often used in specific situations where a precise definition of the grantor's interest is unnecessary, such as where property is being transferred as a gift, to a family member, or into a business entity. For example, when a spouse is to acquire the marital home as part of a divorce settlement, the other spouse may be able to transfer their full interest quickly and inexpensively via a quitclaim deed. A quitclaim deed may also be used to transfer title of a property to a purchaser following a

foreclosure Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has Default (finance), stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the Collateral (finance), coll ...

auction. Typically such a deed will not warrant that the property title is free and clear, and it remains up to the grantee to check that the property is not subject to any legal

encumbrance An encumbrance is a third party's right to, interest in, or legal liability on property that does not prohibit the property's owner from transferring title (but may diminish its value). Encumbrances can be classified in several ways. They may be f ...

s. Usage varies by state, and in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

quitclaim deeds include statutory warranties (similar to “special warranty deeds” in other states) and are the norm rather than the exception. Execution of a quitclaim deed is relatively simple, and may require little more than the signature of the parties. Some states require the deed to be notarized or acknowledged before a notary. Some states permit a

jurat The ''jurats'' () are lay people in Guernsey and Jersey who act as judges of fact rather than law, though they preside over land conveyances and liquor licensing. In Alderney, however, the jurats are judges of both fact and law (assisted by thei ...

, also known as a ''verification upon oath'' or ''affirmation'', in which the affiant swears to the truth of the contents of the document, and signs the document in front of the notary.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quitclaim Deed Real property law Real estate terminology Common law legal terminology Property law legal terminology

History

In United States law

See also

References