Harlan County Quitclaim Deed (Married Grantor with Non-Owner Spouse Joinder) Form

The second signature on this Kentucky quitclaim deed conveys nothing. One married owner holds record title and quitclaims that interest; the owner's spouse, who appears nowhere in the chain of title, signs a joinder block that releases the marital and homestead interests Kentucky law gives a spouse in the other spouse's land. Two signatures, two different legal acts, one recorded instrument.

The interest that is not in the chain of title

Kentucky kept dower and curtesy long after most states let them go, and that is why a deed signed by one married owner alone can leave something behind. KRS 392.020, amended by 2026 Ky. Acts ch. 134 and effective July 15, 2026, leaves a surviving spouse two claims: the KRS 391.010 intestate share of land the deceased spouse still held at death, and a one third life estate in land that spouse owned in fee sometime during the marriage but had parted with before dying, unless the survivor's right was barred, forfeited, or relinquished. The second claim is the one a lifetime deed has to answer, since it reaches property that already changed hands, and the statute's closing words are the opening this form uses. No freestanding lifetime release for that claim appears in the statutes, so the relinquishment rides in the deed on the non-owner spouse's own signature line.

What the joinder block does, and what it withholds

Section 10 of the form is the joinder. The individual named in Section 2 is described as the grantor's spouse and not a record owner, and that individual releases and relinquishes to the grantee all interest of a surviving spouse under KRS 392.020, dower and curtesy included, along with any homestead exemption right under KRS 427.060. The section also carries the four conditions KRS 427.100 attaches to releasing that exemption: a writing, subscribed by the owner and spouse, acknowledged, and recorded like a conveyance. The closing paragraph is just as deliberate: the joining spouse conveys no record title, keeps nothing of what the section releases, takes no consideration, and gives no warranty, so a signature meant to clear a marital interest never reads as a second grantor's conveyance.

Built around one record owner

The deed recites exactly one grantor, describes that grantor as a married record owner, gives the spouse a block of its own, and names one grantee. That architecture answers title standing in one spouse's name alone: property bought before the marriage, property inherited by one spouse, property deeded during the marriage to one spouse as the only named grantee. A spouse who took title alone conveying to a buyer, and an owner passing inherited land to a sibling while the spouse clears the statutory interest, present the pattern this deed recites. It is not arranged for two record owners on the granting side, for an unmarried sole owner, or for an entity grantor signing through a representative. Where the grantor's title came by descent, KRS 382.120 calls for an affidavit of descent before the clerk lodges the deed, an instrument recorded separately and not included here.

No warranty, stated on the face of the deed

Kentucky attaches title covenants to statutory words: KRS 382.030 makes with warranty a covenant against all claims, and KRS 382.040 limits with special warranty to claims arising by, through, or under the grantor. This form omits both phrases and says so, remising, releasing, and forever quitclaiming whatever interest the grantor holds at delivery. Liens, easements, and gaps in the chain survive untouched.

Three signatures, three certificates

The grantor signs the deed and the sworn KRS 382.135 consideration certificate, the joining spouse signs Section 10, and the grantee signs the certificate alone, which is what that statute asks of the receiving side. Each signer takes a separate notarial certificate, so the three may appear on different days before different officers; the grantor and grantee certificates carry the oath and the acknowledgment together, while the spouse's tracks the individual short form of KRS 423.160. The statutory content a county clerk checks has one home each: source of title under KRS 382.110, party names and addresses with the in-care-of tax bill address under KRS 382.135, and the signed preparer endorsement of KRS 382.335.

Sometimes searched as a Kentucky quit claim deed with dower release or a spousal joinder deed, this download delivers the fillable deed, a completed Daviess County example, and a plain-language guide covering each section, the three signatures, and recording with the county clerk. The materials are informational and are not legal advice.