A quitclaim deed is a legal form which can be used to indicate a person’s decision to end their claim to a piece of real estate. It also transfers the claim to a different individual, usually the person who is now in possession of the property.

The quitclaim deed is a short form (about 20 fields) which includes the signatures of both parties involved, their mailing addresses, the current date, the county and state where it was signed, and the amount of money paid (if any) for transferring the claim. It also includes a description of the relevant property. The signing of the quitclaim deed should be monitored by a qualified witness, who also puts his or her signature and seal on it.

Quitclaim deeds are generally not used in typical real estate sales, according to wikipedia.org. Among other uses, they are sometimes utilized in divorces where one partner retains full ownership of a property and the other does not. Quitclaim deeds are applicable to some types of property which do not include land ownership, in additional to typical homes and acreage. This type of deed should not be confused with a quitclaim bill of sale, which involves a substantially different form and only requires the seller’s signature.

Some web sites provide text based quitclaim deed forms for free; others offer higher quality printouts for a fee. Many legal form computer software packages include this type of form as well. One example is the CD-ROM based program “Personal Legal Forms & Agreements” from Made E-Z Software, which is inexpensively available for purchase online. Using a computer printer or typewriter to fill out the form will make it more readable and prevent words from being altered or erased. Yet another option is to pay for an attorney to obtain and fill out the deed for you.

Overall, a quitclaim deed is useful for relinquishing ownership (or any claim to ownership) to someone who already has other documents proving that they own the property. Other types of deeds are generally preferable for transferring ownership, such as when a home is sold. The involved parties should consult a lawyer if there is any question with regard to the best way of conducting such transactions.