Also known as: quitclaim deeds · quitclaim · quit claim deed · quit claim
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A deed that conveys whatever interest the grantor holds in the property without any covenants or warranties of title.
MetroStyle Retail Corp. sold a vacant big-box store to Lena by a recorded instrument expressly labeled a quitclaim deed containing no warranties. An old recorded restriction later limited the building's use. Lena could not recover from MetroStyle on a covenant theory because the deed passed only whatever interest MetroStyle held and created no promises about encumbrances.
Emogene and Roy held their homestead as joint tenants. Roy signed a quitclaim deed purporting to convey both spouses' interests solely to himself. The deed transferred only Roy's own interest because a quitclaim conveys whatever the grantor holds and created no additional rights for Roy against Emogene's share.
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Don and Sandra Craft owned property as tenants by the entirety. After a federal tax lien attached to Don's interest, the couple executed a quitclaim deed transferring Don's interest to Sandra. The deed conveyed only Don's interest at that moment and left the government's lien intact against whatever rights Don had held.
The IRS seized Grable's property for unpaid taxes and sold it to Darue. After the redemption period expired the government delivered a quitclaim deed to Darue. Five years later Grable sued to quiet title. The quitclaim conveyed only the interest the government held after the sale and provided no warranty against defects in the seizure process.
Husband and wife held property as joint tenants. The wife executed a quitclaim deed conveying her undivided half interest to herself as tenant in common. The deed severed the joint tenancy because it transferred whatever interest she held and destroyed the right of survivorship without needing a strawman grantee.
No. A quitclaim deed passes only whatever interest the grantor actually holds at the time of conveyance and contains no covenants of title. The grantee takes the risk that the grantor may hold nothing.
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No. A quitclaim deed includes no covenants for title, so the grantee cannot sue for breach of seisin, against encumbrances, quiet enjoyment, or warranty. Recovery would require a different theory such as fraud outside the deed.
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No. Courts treat an escrowed quitclaim deed that automatically transfers title on default as an invalid clog on the equity of redemption. The mortgagee must still foreclose and afford the mortgagor an opportunity to redeem.
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No. The owner of a power of termination generally lacks power to transfer it by inter vivos conveyance, including quitclaim. The attempted transfer leaves the interest with the original holder.
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…to redeem the property within 180 days of the sale, § 6337(b)(1), and after that period had passed, the Government gave Darue a quitclaim deed, §6339. Five years later, Grable brought a quiet title action in state court, claiming that Darue’s record title was invalid because the IRS had failed to notify Grable of its seizure of…