Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: quits claim clarification

in a nutshell, a quit claim deed purports to transfer any and all ownership claims to a parcel of property that the grantor in fact "has" over to the recipient grantee. "without guarantees" simply means that the grantor does not purport to necessarily transfer marketable title but rather only the "actual" interest the grantor has in the property. if you would like further assistance and/or legal representation in the matter discussed in your series of questions, please email my Law Firm directly with a general overview as to what is going on with your particular situation.

Re: quits claim clarification

If you have signed it and delivered it to the grantee, it is done. You cannot just cancel it. If the party passed away, it then gets transferred according to his will or by state law.

Re: quits claim clarification

First, the definition you started with is not very good. The transfer doesn't have to be to another co-owner; often it is, but it can be to anyone.

Next, there are two relatively common types of deed used in California; the grant deed and the quitclaim deed. The major difference between them is that the grantor of the grant deed is saying to the grantee, "I have (except as disclosed in writing to you) good title to the property I'm granting you by this deed, and I guarantee it!" In contrast, the grantor in a quitclaim deed is saying to the grantee, "I'm selling you whatever title I've got -- it may be perfect, I may have nothing, YOU figure it out!"

Neither type of deed can be un-done after the transaction closes and the deed is delivered to the grantee, except perhaps by court order because of mistake, fraud, etc.

"Mistake" here doesn't mean "bad judgment" that you later regret, either; it means, for example, the title company screwed up the property description, or something like that.

The grantor is supposed to deliver either kind of deed to the grantee at the closing, and that's what makes the transfer of title legal, final and official. It is strongly recommended to have the deed recorded, as it is the way the entire legal-realestate-tax assessor etc. world keeps up on who owns what, and failure to record a deed can result in some third party accidentally acquiring superior title in a future transaction.

If a grantee who has received title to real property by quitclaim dies, the real property becomes part of his estate just like everything else he owns, and it may go to his wife, his kids, his favorite charity, or even to the tax collector, depending upon his marital status, whether he had a will, whether his taxes were paid, and so on. However, it would not ordinarily go back to the grantor nor to someone else at the grantor's direction. You may be confusing the quitclaim deed (a type of deed) with the grant of a life estate (which is a kind of interest in property rather than a kind of deed -- a sort of 'message versus medium' distinction). If someone holds a life estate in property, it reverts back to the grantor (or some third party, but not the grantee's heirs).

Finally, what do you mean "never processed?" If you mean "never recorded," the deed is still valid as long as it was delivered to the grantee (actually or constructively). If you mean "never delivered," i.e. the grantee or his representative weren't in custody of the deed before the grantee's death, the deed is likely ineffective to pass title.