Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: agreement

No, a quitclaim deed is not the proper place for such settlement terms. Also, if you did so, and you weren't barred by the county recorder when you recorded the deed, you may be creating rights for the grantee which were unintended by you.

A quitclaim deed is a deed without warranty. You are simply giving up whatever rights you have in the property.

Re: agreement

No. A settlement agreement is a species of contract, but a deed is a species unto itself, and not a contract. The two should be separate.

Additional reasons: 1. A deed when recorded becomes public information forever. The terms of your settlement agreement should be for restricted viewing, if not completely confidential. 2. Deeds are usually signed by the grantor only; an agreement has to be signed by all parties. 3. The recorder isn't allowed to record contracts, so the combined deed/settlement might be refused by the recorder. 4. Deeds behave differently from contracts in the way they cause things to happen; thus the way later-on problems with each can be handled are quite different.

Deeds and contracts are like oil and water, and the mixing of the two is difficult and things come apart later on.

However, if the deed and settlement agreement have already been combined, and your problem is after-the-fact enforcement of one or another, the fact of an improper combination may not be much of a barrier to getting enforcement in court. The judge will find a way to give each party his or her proper result. It's just a problem that is better avoided in the first place.