Virginia Quitclaim Deed

Quitclaim deeds are statutory forms for conveying real property in the Commonwealth of Virginia. When a deed includes specific words of release, the grantor relinquishes all right, title and interest and any future claim, challenge, or demand on the land (Va. Code 55.1-363).

Quitclaim deeds carry no warranty of title, and merely transfer whatever interest, if any, the grantor has in the property at the time of conveyance. For this reason, they provide the least amount of surety to the buyer/grantee and are typically reserved for situations where the two parties are familiar, such as adding or removing a name from the title, or in cases of divorce.

To transfer title, a deed requires each grantor's and grantee's name, marital status, and address, and the grantee's manner of vesting title. In addition, the deed recites the consideration the grantee is paying for the transfer of title. A state recordation tax applies unless a valid exemption is noted on the face of the deed. To properly identify the parcel changing ownership, a deed includes the full legal description of the property and notes the derivation of the grantor's title and any restrictions on the property.

Every (i) contract in writing; (ii) deed conveying any estate or term; (iii) deed of gift, or deed of trust, or mortgage conveying real estate or personal property; and (iv) bill of sale, or contract for the sale of personal property, when the possession is allowed to remain with the grantor, shall be void as to all purchasers for valuable consideration without notice not parties thereto and lien creditors, until and except from the time it is recorded in the county or city in which the property subject to such contract, deed, or bill of sale is located. The fact that any such instrument is in the form of or contains the terms of a quit-claim or release shall not prevent the grantee from being a purchaser for valuable consideration without notice, nor be of itself notice to such grantee of any unrecorded conveyance of or encumbrance upon such real estate or personal property. The mere possession of real estate shall not, of itself, be notice to purchasers for value of any interest or estate therein of the person in possession. (55.1-407).

Deeds affecting title to real estate in the Commonwealth of Virginia should comply with the standards for recorded instruments established by the Library of Virginia, with the exception that certain independent cities and counties require a larger bottom, last-page margin. Some recording offices require a Virginia Land Records cover sheet. Counties that do not require a cover sheet must comply with first-page document requirements established at Va. Code 17.1-223.

(Virginia QD Package includes form, guidelines, and completed example) For use in Virginia Only