As the name suggests, a Quit Claim Deed is a contractual document that is most commonly used to relinquish or “quit” a claim to the deed of a piece of real property. By signing a quit claim deed an individual or “grantor” is releasing any claim on the property in question passing the claim on to the “grantee.” This document can also be used to transfer property between family members or clarify title questions. One important note is that a Quit Claim Deed does not in any way validate that an individual has claim on a property to begin with so it should not be used as guarantee that a title for a piece of property is free and clear.
Some of the most common situations that Quit Claim Deeds are used is during divorce or when married couples sell property that was purchased by one or the other prior to being married. In divorce cases, quit claims are used to separate the assets with one of the parties releasing claim on certain items to the other party so there is not an issue over financial interests when the time to sell comes. In the other situation, if an individual solely owns a piece of property and subsequently gets married, when the couple proceeds with selling the property, as a precaution the grantee will often have the new spouse sign a quit claim to waive their right to the property.
While it is not a clear title guarantee, a quit claim deed is an effective way to remove specific interests when purchasing property.