Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
Deed Procedure
Couple is divorced, ex passes away (house to be sold) at escrow, ex wife signs affadavit of death (joint tenancy) presume this means I own house completely. Ex's trustee then quitclaims the new buyer for her potential interest in house. Then a grant deed is recorded from me to new buyer. There was a MSA recorded to split proceeds however I never knew of quitclaim recorded. Escrow company never indicated this on settlement sheet that I rec'd however it did show up on the last one I requested. How can someone quitclaim interest (realize this was probably safety measure) when the other party presumably owns entire property.
Does this procedure sound correct? Once more, affadavit recorded, quitclaim recorded then grant deed. All in this order on same day. Also shouldn't my mortgage have been paid off before grant deed was recorded. There appears to be a 10 day window between when title was recorded and when funds were recorded (not reconveyance deed). Does this mean I paid for those days or is it merely a formality.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Deed Procedure
The quitclaim may have been unnecessary, but there is always the possibility of some interest or claim outside of the joint tenancy, and the quitclaim is a very simple means to remove that worry in the mind of the buyer. For example, the execution of the MSA could arguably have severed the joint tenancy, in which case the deceased spouse's half interest could have passed under his will or trust.
As to whether you paid ten days too much mortgage, this is possible; your liability should terminate as of the pay-off date, which in turn should be the same as the closing date. Something different may have happened here due to the unusual circumstances, but it's hard to guess whether the error was in the handling of paperwork per se or a date calculation error.
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