Howard County Quitclaim Deed (Divorce) Form

By the time this Maryland deed is signed, the title has already changed once. A circuit court granted an absolute divorce, the tenancy by the entirety ended with the marriage that held it together, and the two former spouses became tenants in common, each holding a separate undivided share of one parcel. This fill-in-the-blank quitclaim deed is how the land records catch up: one former spouse, as Grantor, releases that share to the other former spouse, as Grantee, with nothing promised about the state of the title.

What the judgment changed before the deed arrived

Tenancy by the entirety is available in Maryland only to spouses, and an absolute divorce ends the marriage the estate depends on, so the co-ownership continues as a tenancy in common and the survivorship is gone. Real Property Article Section 4-108(b)(3) lets an entireties interest be granted by either spouse acting individually to the other in tenancy in severalty, and its terms reach people still married to each other. Once the judgment is entered, no entireties estate remains for that subsection to move, and the deed conveys the Grantor's own undivided share, the tenancy in common interest Real Property Article Section 2-117 supplies by default. Section 12 performs the release in the customary Maryland words, remises, releases, and forever quitclaims, and adds that only the interest held at delivery passes and that no warranty of title is made.

Two taxes the word former lifts off

One word in the Tax-Property Article does most of the work on a divorce quit claim deed. Section 12-108(d)(1)(i) takes the recordation tax off an instrument of writing that transfers property between spouses or former spouses, and Section 13-207(a)(3) extends the same relief to the State transfer tax. Consideration is still stated under Section 12-104, including mortgage debt the Grantee assumes; a release given without payment enters zero, the answer Tax-General Article Section 10-912(d)(6) reads for nonresident withholding. Section 10 gives the exemption citation its own blank, repeated on the Land Instrument Intake Sheet, a separate cover form that is not part of this instrument, and clerks reviewing the claim commonly ask to see the judgment.

The divorce case, named on the recorded page

Section 3 collects the court, the case number, the date of the judgment of absolute divorce, and the date of any marital settlement agreement. Family Law Article Section 8-101 makes a deed or agreement between spouses about property rights valid and enforceable, and Section 8-105 gives the circuit court contempt power over provisions merged or incorporated into the decree. What the deed cannot do is release anyone from a loan: Section 8-205(a)(2)(iii) conditions a court-ordered transfer of a jointly owned principal residence on the receiving party obtaining the other party's release from liens against it.

What the divorce configuration recites

The form recites exactly one Grantor, a former spouse signing personally, and exactly one Grantee, the other former spouse, who signs nothing. It carries one acknowledgment certificate on the short form of State Government Article Section 18-216, a certificate of preparation with its own capacity blank, and a blank for the election district Real Property Article Section 3-104(g) puts on the face of a deed recorded in Prince George's County. Releases in this posture reach the land records in recognizable shapes: a judgment directing the departing party to release an undivided half interest in the parcel the other keeps, a settlement agreement performed on the day the retained party's refinance closes, and an investment parcel awarded in the property division. The form is not set up for a conveyance made while the parties are still married, for both former spouses conveying to a purchaser, for an entity Grantor, or for a trustee, personal representative, guardian, or attorney-in-fact signer.

Reaching the Land Records

Recording completes this conveyance rather than following it: Real Property Article Section 3-101(a) withholds effect from a deed until it is executed and recorded. Section 14 carries the preparation certificate Section 3-104(f) demands, and the page answers the official-use band and side margins of Section 3-104(e)(1)(i)2 in 12 point type, enforceable by refusal since October 1, 2025.

The download holds the blank fillable deed configured for a release between former spouses, a completed example working a Howard County transfer through every blank, and a plain-language guide to the fourteen sections, grantee vesting, signing, the taxes, and county recording. It describes Maryland law and this form, and it is not legal advice.