Should You Write Your Own Quitclaim Deed?
Over the past few weeks I've come across two quitclaim deeds that were prepared by the owner of the property without the assistance of an attorney and, low and behold, each deed ended up being invalid. Both of these deeds were recorded among the appropriate land records but failed to list the correct legal description of the property involved, and so the deeds failed to transfer the property as the owner had intended.
In one case I worked with the owner and a real estate attorney to prepare and record a corrective deed, but in the other case the owner had died, and so a corrective deed was not an option. What the deceased owner had intended was to add the names of her children to the deed as joint tenants with rights of survivorship. Instead, since the deed was invalid, the property remained solely in the owner's name, and so now the children have to probate their mother's estate in order to be able to sell the property. The real kicker is that the mother died over five years ago and yet all along the children thought that they had a valid deed and could sell the property whenever the opportunity presented itself. Unfortunately, now that the opportunity has presented itself, they have learned that they were wrong and will have to spend a few thousand dollars to get it all straightened out.
The moral to the story: If you think that you can save a few bucks by using a form deed that you find on the internet or in a book, think again.
Deeds are legal documents that have very specific requirements and are governed by different laws in each state (in other words, a deed that is valid in New York may not necessarily be valid in Florida). If you want to insure that your home or other real estate will pass to your children without probate, then seek the advice of an attorney who is familiar with the probate and real estate laws of the state where your property is located to insure that the deed will be valid and your property will avoid probate.
In one case I worked with the owner and a real estate attorney to prepare and record a corrective deed, but in the other case the owner had died, and so a corrective deed was not an option. What the deceased owner had intended was to add the names of her children to the deed as joint tenants with rights of survivorship. Instead, since the deed was invalid, the property remained solely in the owner's name, and so now the children have to probate their mother's estate in order to be able to sell the property. The real kicker is that the mother died over five years ago and yet all along the children thought that they had a valid deed and could sell the property whenever the opportunity presented itself. Unfortunately, now that the opportunity has presented itself, they have learned that they were wrong and will have to spend a few thousand dollars to get it all straightened out.
The moral to the story: If you think that you can save a few bucks by using a form deed that you find on the internet or in a book, think again.
Deeds are legal documents that have very specific requirements and are governed by different laws in each state (in other words, a deed that is valid in New York may not necessarily be valid in Florida). If you want to insure that your home or other real estate will pass to your children without probate, then seek the advice of an attorney who is familiar with the probate and real estate laws of the state where your property is located to insure that the deed will be valid and your property will avoid probate.
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