Question 1: My husband and I bought a house in January 2006 before we got married. We just got married in March 2007. Do I have to file a quitclaim deed for my name change only?
C., Everett
Question 2: I have a question about quitclaim deeds. I was recently married, and now I am the homemaker of the family, so I have no income.
My wife, however, does and we would like to get the home in her name. We have inquired about refinancing, but her credit is not as good as mine so our interest rates would go up.
Would a quitclaim be right for us? How do I go about this. I have found online copies of forms, but where do I take it? Who needs a copy of this form? Any help would be great.
T.B., Indianapolis, Ind.
Answer: Here are a couple questions about quitclaim deeds that I received recently. Quitclaim deeds are often misunderstood and these questions illustrate some of that confusion.
First, let me explain what a quitclaim deed is and how it works. As its name implies, when you give somebody a quitclaim deed on real property, you are giving up, or quitting, all legal ownership interests that you have in that property. However, a quitclaim deed does not guarantee that you have any ownership interest in the property named in the deed.
For example, I could give you a quitclaim deed to the Space Needle. You could then take that quitclaim deed to the King County courthouse and record it. It would become a legal record, but you would not gain any ownership interest in the Space Needle because I had none to give when I gave you the quitclaim deed.
That’s why quitclaim deeds are typically used only between family members where there is no question as to who owns the property. When property is sold in this state, it is usually sold using a warranty deed, which is a type of deed that includes a guarantee, or warranty, that the seller actually owns the property being sold.
Now, let me address the first question above: When you buy a property in your maiden name and later get married and change your last name, there is no legal reason or necessity to file a quit claim deed or any other kind of legal document to change your name on the title to your property.
When you were married, your name was legally changed and any documents that you signed under your maiden name prior to the marriage are still legal. Typically, you won’t record any new documents unless you refinance the property with a new mortgage.
The lender will then want to have your legal name on the title when the new loan closes. Other than that, you could keep the title as is forever with no legal risks at all.
For the second question above, related to adding the wife’s name to the title of a property after a marriage, that is exactly the kind of situation in which a quitclaim deed would typically be used. But don’t confuse getting a quitclaim deed with getting a mortgage. They are two different things. As you pointed out, if your wife has poor credit, you will not be able to get a new mortgage at a reasonable interest rate, if you can get one at all. But you don’t have to refinance the property to get a quitclaim deed. You can add your wife to the property title any time you want.
I do not recommend using online legal forms and doing this yourself. It is relatively inexpensive to have a local title company’s escrow department prepare the proper documents for you and make sure they are recorded correctly.
You don’t have to provide copies of the quit claim deed to anybody. That is the reason that documents are recorded at the county recorder’s office. Once the quitclaim deed is recorded, it becomes a public record, and anybody doing a title search on your property will be able to see that it is now owned by you and your wife.
Just keep in mind that if you want to refinance in the future, and your wife’s credit is still poor, you may have to quit claim her off the title to the property, get a new mortgage in your name only, and then quit claim your wife back onto the title of the property. Ironically, because Washington is a community property state, when a married man gets a mortgage in his name only, the lender typically requires the wife to sign a quitclaim deed to show that she knew and approved of the mortgage on the property.
The same thing happens when a married woman buys or refinances a home in her name only. The lender would require the husband to sign a quitclaim deed.
I hope this clears up a couple more questions about quitclaim deeds and how they are used.
Mail your real estate questions to Steve Tytler, The Herald, P.O. Box, Everett, WA 98206. Fax questions to Tytler at 425-339-3435 or e-mail him at economy@heraldnet.com.
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