Howard County Quitclaim Deed (Individual Grantor by Attorney-in-Fact) Form

Somebody other than the owner signs this Maryland quitclaim deed, often called a POA deed. The Grantor is one record owner, and an attorney-in-fact acting under a power of attorney signs in that owner's name, passing along the interest the owner then holds and promising nothing whatever about it. Two instruments reach the land records here, the deed and the power of attorney, and Maryland sequences them by statute.

The statute that pairs a deed with a power of attorney

Real Property Article Section 4-107(a) has a power of attorney authorizing an agent to sell and grant property executed in the same manner as a deed and recorded, and it allows that recording before, on, or after the day the deed is recorded. Recording afterward carries three conditions in Section 4-107(b), and the third reaches the deed: the deed, or a recorded instrument supplementing it, contains an affidavit or certification by the agent stating substantially that the agent had no actual knowledge, at the time of execution, of the revocation of the power of attorney by death of the principal or by the principal's later disability or incompetence. Section 8 of this form carries that certification in the statutory terms.

How the signature line reads

Section 4-107(c) has a person executing a deed as agent describe himself in the deed and sign as agent. Section 2 identifies the attorney-in-fact and identifies the power of attorney by date and recording reference. The execution block runs in the record owner's name, signed by the attorney-in-fact in that stated capacity, with the printed name line Section 3-104(d) puts beneath a signature. The notarial certificate is the representative-capacity short form of State Government Article Section 18-216(c), whose by-line names the individual, the type of authority, and the party on whose behalf the record was executed; under Section 18-201(b) that acknowledgment is the signer's declaration of having signed with proper authority and as the act of the person named in the record.

Where the authority itself sits

Not in the deed. The Maryland General and Limited Power of Attorney Act, Estates and Trusts Article Title 17 governs the instrument that grants it, and Section 17-110 sets a demanding execution standard: the principal signs, acknowledges before a notary public, and has two or more adult witnesses attest and sign, with the notary permitted to be one of them. A written power of attorney is durable by default under Section 17-105. The statutory forms at Sections 17-202 and 17-203 name the power to quitclaim expressly in their real property grants, while gift authority sits apart, in a grant of specific authority the principal marks separately. That instrument is prepared, executed, and recorded on its own and is not included in this package.

What the attorney-in-fact configuration recites

The form recites exactly one record owner as Grantor, exactly one attorney-in-fact signing in that owner's name, one acknowledgment certificate written for a representative signer, and a certificate of preparation carrying a capacity blank. Patterns presenting this configuration turn up throughout the land records: an owner living in another state whose agent signs at a Maryland settlement, an owner in a care facility whose agent acts under a durable power of attorney granted years earlier, and an owner traveling abroad on the settlement date. The form is not set up for a record owner signing personally, for two record owners, for coagents whose power of attorney has them act together unanimously, or for a signer whose authority comes from a trust instrument, from letters of administration, or from appointment as guardian of the property.

What the clerk collects

Consideration is stated under Tax-Property Article Section 12-104, including any mortgage debt the Grantee assumes, and the county recordation tax charged per $500, the State transfer tax, and any county transfer tax compute from that figure. A Land Instrument Intake Sheet travels with the deed to the Clerk of the Circuit Court, carrying the tax entries and the Grantee's tax bill address. Page geometry answers Section 3-104(e)(1)(i)2 in 12 point type, and Section 5 collects the election district Section 3-104(g) puts on the face of a deed recorded in Prince George's County.

The download holds the blank fillable quit claim deed configured for an attorney-in-fact signer, a completed example working a Charles County release through every blank, and a plain-language guide covering each section in order, the power of attorney requirements, grantee vesting, notarization, the taxes, and recording. It describes Maryland law and this form, and it is not legal advice.