Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Changing Legal Title on Property

Quit claim. I would use a document prepared by an attorney to be sure you are doing things correctly and that your goals are achieved. You can give me a call, shouldn't be too expensive.

Re: Changing Legal Title on Property

A quit claim deed only establishes a person's "actual ownership interest" in a property, and comes without warranties. So, in essence, it is a very risky and/or dangerous deed to use, especially when there are ALOT stronger ways to secure your or others' interest in the property at issue. You should definitely consult with or retain legal assistance in this matter, especially a matter as important as real property conveyances/protected ownership interests. For a free phone consultation, contact us directly.

Re: Changing Legal Title on Property

A grant deed conveys a better quality of title than a quitclaim deed and it is much safer to have a deed drafted by an attorney. Before you make any decisions, please consider consulting an estate planning attorney. Making a gift of property might have tax consequences that you haven't considered and there may be other tax, business or estate planning issues that you need to discuss before making this transfer.

Re: Changing Legal Title on Property

In the first place, you would not use a "trust deed" -- that's a security device used to provide collateral for a promissory note, and in the phrase "note and deed of trust."

The two common types of deed used to convey legal title to real property in California are the quitclaim deed and the grant deed. The grant deed is sometimes called "warranty deed" becuase it implies a warranty of good title from grantor to grantee.

Several questions come to mind regarding this deal. First, are the children adults? Deeding property to kids under 18 is not a good idea, because if a sale or refinancing became necessary before they were 18, court permission would be required. Second, why do it at all? It is almost always much better from a property, gift, inheritance and income tax standpoint to pass property by will or, even better, a living trust.

There is usually ample room in the space for the grantees' names for three names, because the name(s) of the grantee(s) are often followed by additional information such as "John Q. Doe, a married man, as his sole and separate property."

The space is also used to show how title is taken by the multiple grantees, i.e., whether as joint tenants or tenants in common, and if the latter, what the shares of each are to be.

I think you should get an attorney's advice about not only the mechanics, but also the wisdom, of the proposed transfer by deed. There is probably a better way.

Finally, I note that sometimes people make such transfers to protect property from creditors. In the long run, this doesn't work because there are laws that declare this to be a fraud and allow creditors to un-do such transfers, and everyone (transferor and transferee(s) as well) is liable to the creditor for any harm done.