Also known as: quit-claim deed · quitclaim deed · quitclaim deeds
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A deed that transfers whatever interest the grantor holds in the property without any covenants or warranties regarding title.
Rosa borrowed from Titan Capital and signed a mortgage plus a side letter requiring her to execute a quitclaim deed to the apartment building. The deed went into escrow with instructions to record it automatically upon any default and with no right to redeem. When Rosa missed one payment Titan recorded the deed and claimed outright ownership. Rosa sued to set the recorded deed aside.
Stone Clean conveyed a life estate in a community garden parcel to Justin while retaining the reversion. Facing budget shortfalls Stone Clean later executed a quitclaim deed transferring that reversion to Nova Resource. Justin challenged the transfer claiming it violated Stone Clean's mission documents. Nova Resource recorded the deed and asserted ownership of the future interest.
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Quest Quail and Queenie Quick held property as tenants by the entirety. Quest executed a quitclaim deed purporting to transfer his interest to a third party. After Quest's death the third party claimed an interest in the property. Queenie sued to quiet title asserting the quitclaim conveyed nothing.
A married couple owned property as tenants by the entirety. One spouse executed a quitclaim deed attempting to sever the tenancy. The United States later asserted a federal tax lien against the property. The government argued the quitclaim did not defeat its lien rights in the entireties estate.
A quitclaim deed contains no covenants of title. It simply passes whatever interest the grantor possesses at the time of conveyance. The grantee receives no assurance against prior defects or competing claims.
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Courts refuse to enforce an escrowed quitclaim deed that automatically transfers title upon default. Such an arrangement is treated as an invalid clog on the equity of redemption. The lender must still foreclose and afford the borrower an opportunity to redeem.
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An owner of a reversionary interest may transfer it by quitclaim deed. The deed passes whatever interest the grantor holds provided the creating instrument imposes no restriction on alienation. Mission statements or internal resolutions do not override the power to convey.
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A power of termination or right of entry is not transferable by quitclaim deed. The common-law rule prohibits inter vivos conveyance of such interests to avoid uncertainty in titles. The attempted transfer leaves the grantee without authority to enforce the condition.
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…a conveyance in fee simple to the grantee, ... (Emphasis supplied.) K.S.A. 58-2204 sets forth a similar statutory form for a quitclaim deed. Under these sections an instrument, to constitute a deed, must "describe the premises." The degree of specificity of the description of the premises required is not indicated. The manner…