Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: quitclaim deed

In California (and most elsewhere, too) a deed is effective to transfer title upon execution and delivery. Recording is NOT what transfers title; recording serves the very useful purpose of giving notice to all of the deed's existence, but it is the delivery of the deed from grantor to grantee (or party quitting its claim to party assigned the claim to be super-technical) that transfers ownership. So, the house is already yours, but very few know it, including the tax collectors.

I should probably add that transfers of property done for the purpose of concealing it from creditors or raising obstacles to the enforcement of a debt are considered fraudulent and can be set aside by a lawsuit under the Uniform Fraudulent Transfers Act. I assume that's not an issue here.

I can't really say whether the IRS lien presently attaches to the house or not; you could check the records of the Riverside County recorder, and while doing so also check for any other documents that may have been placed on the record under either of your names or under the assessor parcel number for the house.

Then, keep in mind that attachment of liens and other claims to real property are generally prioritized and enforced in sequence of recording date, suggesting you should record your deed as soon as possible.