Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: quick claim deeds

First of all, this is NO SUCH THING as a "quick claim deed!" If I had a dime for every time someone asked about a "quick claim deed", I'd be a millionaire. You are referring to a "quit claim deed", which is a deed given without warranty to someone. In essence, it means that the grantor may or may not have an interest in the property in question, and makes no warranty that they have an interest, but to the extent that they may have one, they grant their interest (i.e., they "quit" their claim) to whomever the grantee is on the deed.

Re: quick claim deeds

I don't know why 90% of the general public thinks these things are called "quick claim" deeds. The name is "quitclaim" (one word) and it means the grantor is "quitting" (giving up) his claim, if any, in the property, to the grantee.

In California, two ordinary kids of deeds, used by ordinary people, are recognized and used: the grant deed and the quitclaim deed. Here are the differences:

The grantor of a grant deed warrants that he/she/it has good and marketable title to the interest described in the deed. If the grantor grants a one-half interest in Blackacre to the grantee by grant deed, but it turns out he only owns a one-third interest, he has breached the implied warranty of a one-half interest, and can be sued successfully.

On the other hand, if the grantor used a quitclaim deed, he would be surrendering whetever interest he had in Blackacre, if any, without warranty. If it later turned out that he owned nothing, no breach of warranty would have occurred. Fraud, possibly, but it would have to be proven; it doesn't arise automatically out of the interest owned being less than that which the deed attempts or purports to convey.

Quitclaim deeds are probably used most often where the seller is unsure of his interest in the property, perhaps because of an ancient deed or some unexplainable glitch in the chain of title. Grant deeds, often called warranty deeds in other states, are used where the seller is confident of the quality of his title or where the buyer insists upon a warranty of title.

In addition to quitclaim and grant deeds, one may encounter trustee's deeds (after a foreclosure), sheriff's deeds (after a tax sale) and other special-purpose deeds not ordinarily involved in uncoerced transactions between private individuals.