{"id":286,"date":"2019-03-22T08:40:53","date_gmt":"2019-03-22T15:40:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/probate\/?p=286"},"modified":"2022-11-15T14:25:24","modified_gmt":"2022-11-15T21:25:24","slug":"does-quitclaim-deed-avoid-probate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/probate\/blog\/does-quitclaim-deed-avoid-probate\/","title":{"rendered":"Does a Quitclaim Deed Avoid Probate?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Introduction<\/h2>\n<p>People tend to use the terms \u201ctitle\u201d and \u201cdeed\u201d synonymously when discussing real estate, but they\u2019re actually two distinct legal concepts. \u201cTitle\u201d refers to someone\u2019s ownership interest of a property, and their rights to use the property. Individually-owned real estate is titled in the sole-owner\u2019s name, while jointly-titled property will include one or more additional owners as joint tenants, tenants in common, or tenants in the entirety (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.azleg.gov\/ars\/33\/00431.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ARS 33-431<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.azleg.gov\/ars\/33\/00401.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Deeds<\/a>, on the other hand, are legal documents that transfer title from one person or entity to another.<\/p>\n<h4>Four Major Types of Deeds<\/h4>\n<p>Deeds must always be in writing, and in most states, they need to be recorded in the courthouse or assessor\u2019s office to be considered fully binding. A deed can be short and simple, or it can be several pages with numerous covenants, restrictions, and special granting clauses. Most of the time, deeds are prepared by an attorney.<\/p>\n<p>While there are a number of different types of deeds, there are major four types that are most commonly used:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>General warranty deed \u2013 provides the highest level of protection for the party who is buying the property. The deed will usually include significant covenants or warranties that are conveyed by the grantor to the buyer\/grantee.<\/li>\n<li>Special warranty deed \u2013 doesn\u2019t provide as much protection for the buyer\/grantee, as the grantor provides fewer warranties.<\/li>\n<li>Bargain and sale deed \u2013 a special-use deed that offers no protection for the buyer from encumbrances.<\/li>\n<li>Quitclaim deed \u2013 a limited-use deed that provides the least amount of protections for the buyer. In most cases, there are no covenants, warranties, or restrictions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Quitclaim Deeds<\/h4>\n<p>Quitclaim deeds (aka quit claim or quick claim deeds) offer no promises from the grantor. These deeds transfer all of an owner\u2019s interest in the property, though they obviously can\u2019t transfer the title of other owners if there are multiple parties with title to the property. Note that deed transfers of any kind don\u2019t affect any mortgage on the property\u2014only the title of ownership.<\/p>\n<p>Quitclaim deeds are most commonly used when property is being transferred without a traditional sale, such as when property is transferred between family members, when couples divorce, or when property is transferred to a living trust. In all of these scenarios, probating the property is unnecessary.<\/p>\n<h4>What to Include on a Quitclaim Deed<\/h4>\n<p>If you\u2019re writing a quitclaim deed to quickly transfer property to a family member or trust, you\u2019ll want to include the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A legal description of the property<\/li>\n<li>The county where the property is located<\/li>\n<li>The date of the title transfer<\/li>\n<li>The names of the grantor and grantee<\/li>\n<li>The purchase price for the property (if applicable)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In most cases, the grantor, witnesses, and the grantee will need to sign the deed in the presence of a notary public. After the deed has been notarized, it\u2019ll need to be filed with the county clerk in the county where the property is located.<\/p>\n<h4>Other Assets That Are Not Subject to Probate<\/h4>\n<p>Assets that have a designated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.azleg.gov\/ars\/14\/01201.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">beneficiary<\/a> have the potential to transfer title without going through probate. As long as the account lists a living beneficiary other than the decedent or the decedent\u2019s estate, the financial institution holding the assets will transfer title of ownership automatically when they receive a copy of the owner\u2019s death certificate. These assets are commonly referred to as \u201cnon-probate\u201d assets thanks to their ability to bypass probate. Non-probate assets include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bank and brokerage accounts with a transfer-on-death or payable-on-death beneficiary<\/li>\n<li>Real estate owned as joint tenants or as tenants in the entirety<\/li>\n<li>Retirement accounts (401k, IRA)<\/li>\n<li>Life insurance policies<\/li>\n<li>Trusts<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>What to Do if Property Needs to Transfer Through Probate<\/h4>\n<p>Probate is necessary when someone passes away with individually-titled assets. Without a probate judge\u2019s action, a decedent\u2019s individually-titled assets would remain frozen indefinitely. If you are a beneficiary or a legal heir to a decedent\u2019s individually-titled assets, here\u2019s what you can expect in the probate process:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Someone needs to petition to open probate<\/li>\n<li>The court will appoint a personal representative<\/li>\n<li>The personal representative will serve notice of probate to all interested parties<\/li>\n<li>The personal representative will inventory and value the estate<\/li>\n<li>The personal representative will settle the estate\u2019s liabilities<\/li>\n<li>The personal representative will distribute the estate\u2019s residual assets<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h4>Opening Probate<\/h4>\n<p>If the decedent left a will, the party in possession of the will is required to submit the will to the county court within a reasonable amount of time (usually 30 \u2013 120 days of the decedent\u2019s passing). Whoever submits the will typically submits a petition to open probate. If the decedent didn\u2019t leave a will, or if the party in possession of the will fails to submit it, any interested party can petition to open probate (that includes beneficiaries, legal heirs, and even creditors).<\/p>\n<h4>Appointing a Personal Representative<\/h4>\n<p>If the decedent had a will, their will should nominate someone to serve as the estate\u2019s executor or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.azleg.gov\/ars\/14\/01201.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">personal representative<\/a>. If the decedent didn\u2019t have a will, the probate court can appoint a personal representative (usually a family member), or they can appoint a third-party <a href=\"https:\/\/www.azleg.gov\/ars\/14\/03614.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">special administrator<\/a>. Either way, personal representatives and administrators have the same responsibilities, and will be in charge of handling the estate\u2019s affairs through the probate process.<\/p>\n<h4>Serving Notice of Probate<\/h4>\n<p>The first item of business for the personal representative will be to serve notice of probate to the estate\u2019s known beneficiaries, legal heirs, and creditors. He or she will also need to post an ad in the local paper once a week for three weeks, to notify any unknown creditors and interested parties that the estate is open for probate. Beginning the day that the first newspaper ad is run in the local newspaper, the estate\u2019s creditors will have four months to submit claims to the estate.<\/p>\n<h4>Gathering the Estate\u2019s Assets<\/h4>\n<p>Before the personal representative can pay any bills and distribute assets, they\u2019ll need to have a full inventory of the size and value of the estate. Liquid assets like bank and brokerage accounts are simple to value with the most recent account statement, but illiquid assets like real estate, vehicles, and valuable personal possessions may need to be professionally appraised for fair market value.<\/p>\n<h4>Settling the Estate\u2019s Liabilities<\/h4>\n<p>Once the estate\u2019s creditors have been given sufficient time to submit their claims, the personal representative will need to settle the claims using the estate\u2019s assets. The personal representative will also need to final a final income tax return and estate tax return (if applicable) and pay any taxes due.<\/p>\n<h4>Distributing the Estate\u2019s Residual Assets<\/h4>\n<p>After all of the estate\u2019s liabilities are settled, the personal representative will finally be allowed to distribute the estate\u2019s remaining assets (referred to as residual assets). If the decedent left a will, the assets will be distributed according to the instructions in the will. If there isn\u2019t a will, the decedent\u2019s assets will be distributed according to the state\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.azleg.gov\/ars\/14\/02101.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">intestacy\u00a0<\/a>laws.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Call our Probate team at <a href=\"tel:4804674365\">(480)467-4365<\/a> to discuss your case today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Introduction People tend to use the terms \u201ctitle\u201d and \u201cdeed\u201d synonymously when discussing real estate, but they\u2019re actually two distinct legal concepts. \u201cTitle\u201d refers to someone\u2019s ownership interest of a property, and their rights to use the property. Individually-owned real estate is titled in the sole-owner\u2019s name, while jointly-titled property will include one or more [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Does a Quitclaim Deed Avoid Probate?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Quitclaim deeds offer no promises to avoid probate from the grantor. 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