Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: quitclaim

Deeds need to be notarized. Your husband may have overlooked this requirement, or there may be some fraud cooking......keep an eye on the public records concerning this property as the deed may show up with the notarial seal of one of his buddies. Maybe I'm too cynical, but I hear more and more often of notarial forgeries and frauds.

On the other hand, if he owned this property before your marriage, and unless there are some rather unusual circumstances, it's his anyway. So why shouldn't you quitclaim to him before a notary?

To be sure, there are at least a dozen rather rare situations in which a spouse may acquire an interest in property owned by the other spouse as separate property prior to marriage, so I don't mean to dismiss the possibility that your quitclaiming to him is an idle gesture. But ordinarily, it's a "so what" deal. If you know of any circumstances that make you think you or your marital community has acquired an interest in this property since marriage, by all means have a local family-law attorney advise you before you sign anything!

One of these circumstances might be that your money or community money (including HIS earnings since marriage) has been used to pay down the equity portion of loans against the property.

Re: quitclaim

Was the property fully paid for before you married him? If not, community property funds may have been used to purchase the property, in which case you may have an ownership interest. Why were you on the title in the first place? Your quitclaim deed must be notarized before it can be recorded. However, it is still valid as to you.