Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: california quitclaim deed

No specific form is required but any paper must meet the requirements of a deed. And, a deed is not filed, it is recorded at the county recorder, but in CA its validity does not depend upon recordation.

Re: california quitclaim deed

No specific form is required but any paper must meet the requirements of a deed. And, a deed is not filed, it is recorded at the county recorder, but in CA its validity does not depend upon recordation.

Re: california quitclaim deed

No specific form is required but any paper must meet the requirements of a deed. And, a deed is not filed, it is recorded at the county recorder, but in CA its validity does not depend upon recordation.

Re: california quitclaim deed

Let's go back to the concept of a deed. A deed is a private written instrument. There are more similarities than differences between quitclaim deeds and the other major category, grant deeds. The basic requirements are that the instrument identify the grantor, the grantee, the specific parcel of real property covered, and the interest therein conveyed by the grantor to the grantee. The deed must be signed by the grantor. There various parts of a deed have technical names such as the "granting clause," "habendum clause," etc., but instruments that are rather free-form have been upheld in court as sufficient to convey title. Therefore, I would say in answer to your question that (a) no particular form is required, but (b) certain basic requirements (as set forth above) must be met.

However, the discussions shouldn't end there. I should point out that deeds do their work when delivered by the grantor to the grantee, or the grantee's agent. That's when title passes. You ask about what needs to be "filed." Technically, we don't "file" deeds, we record them. Recording serves the purpose of making a public and permanent record of who owns what, but recording is not a prerequisite to a deed being effective to transfer ownership. An unrecorded deed is fully effective and biding upon the grantor, the grantee, and all with actual or constructive notice of the deed. Recording is, however, an important step in perfecting the grantee's rights in the property, since it gives "notice to the world" of the transaction.

A deed must be notarized (acknowledged) in order to be accepted for recording. Notarization of a deed is, therefore, important. Nevertheless, a deed that is not notarized is not invalid thereby.

Re: california quitclaim deed

Here's the second part of my answer, since LawGuru will not take answers longer than 3000 characters:

A quitclaim deed differs from a grant deed in that the grantor does not warrant that he/she/it owns the interest conveyed; it is only a surrender of the interest, to the extent the grantor has it. Further, on a quitclaim deed, the person quitting his/her/its claim is technically not even a true "grantor," since that term implies a warranty.

The granting clause in a quitclaim deed would therefore usually read something like "X hereby quitclaims unto Y all of his right, title and interest in Blackacre, if any" rather than the grant deed language "X hereby grants to Y a fee in Blackacre."

Whether a "general letter" would be considered a deed of any kind, and therefore whether it conveyed any title, would require finding that it contained words of conveyance from X to Y of an interest in adequately-described property, that it was signed by the "grantor" and delivered to the "grantee" (or agent). My guess is that the general letter, even if it contained "all the information" (whatever that means) is likely to fail to meet all of the requirements of a deed; however, this letter may very possibly be an enforceable contract, requiring the seller/prospective grantor to execute and deliver a deed to close the deal. On the other hand, the letter may be a deed, or it may be a legal nullity.