I’ve had so many clients who made the mistake of doing their own Quit Claim Deed on their real estate. They owned a vacant piece of property, and thought they would save attorney’s fees and accomplish their own estate planning by avoiding probate with a Quit Claim Deed signing the property to their two boys. They signed it and recorded it. Three years later, I get a call from this kind gentleman who is now wanting to sell the lot, because their plans have changed. He is told by someone now that he cannot have his minor children sign a deed back to himself. He asked me what he could do to sell his property. I explained that it wasn’t his property any more, at least not since he deeded it to this children. His children could not legally sign it back to him without a court appointed guardian, so he would have to hire an attorney to do a guardianship. That could easily cost several thousand dollars before the dust settles. That’s one example of how not to use Quit Claim Deeds.
Last Updated on April 3, 2010 by Chuck Marunde
