Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Indiana

Re: Quick claim deed with survivors rights

The deed you are referring to is a QUIT claim not a "QUICK" claim deed.

If the language on the deed says that the land in question is quitclaimed and conveyed to x and y, husband and wife, for life, with remainder to z, then z has no right to convey the property so long as either x or y are alive. However, neither x or y can convey the property without z's consent (although either could convey the balance of his life estate interest).

This would be true even if the language of the deed said "for their joint lives" instead of "for life" or even said elsewhere that the deed is subject to the life estate of x and/or y.

If the entire estate is sold during the lifetime of either x or y, then the proceeds would be divided between x and y as the life tenants and z as the remainderman in percentages determined by reference to the IRS life estate tables as to the life expectency of x or y based on the age of x or y at the time of sale.

However, the parties would be free to agree that x or y could have all of the proceeds by signing the check for the proceeds over to them.

The life tenant has the duty to keep the real estate taxes paid and to keep the property in reasonable repair unless the deed says otherwise.

Basically if the parents reserved a life estate in real estate and gave the remainder interest to one or more children by means of a quit claim deed, then the children cannot exercise ownership rights during the joint life times of the parents.