Berkshire County Quitclaim Deed (Trustee Grantor) Form

A Massachusetts deed signed by a trustee answers a question an ordinary deed never raises: where the authority behind the signature came from, and whose promises the covenants are. This fillable quitclaim deed is drawn for that signature. One trustee holding record title in a trust conveys the real estate to a grantee with the limited covenants General Laws Chapter 183 calls quitclaim covenants, and the instrument states the trust, the date of the trust instrument, and the source of the power to convey.

Authority the record can read

Section 2 names the trust and the date of its instrument, and Section 9 states where the power to convey comes from: an article of the trust instrument, a recorded trustee certificate, a written direction from the beneficiaries of a nominee trust, or the powers the trust code supplies. Chapter 203E, Section 816 lists specific powers a trustee may exercise, clause (2) being the power to acquire or sell property at public or private sale, and Section 1012 protects a buyer dealing with a trustee in good faith and for value, who is not required to inquire into the extent of the trustee's powers. Chapter 184, Section 35 supplies the recorded trustee certificate a title examiner reads in place of the trust instrument, and the deed carries its book and page.

Covenants spoken in a fiduciary capacity

Chapter 183, Sections 11 and 17 give the two words quitclaim covenants their content: the premises are free of encumbrances the grantor made, and the grantor defends the title against claims arising by, through or under the grantor, and against none other. This form writes the promises out and then places them, because Section 11 states that the grantor signs solely as trustee and not individually and that the fiduciary capacity is disclosed on the instrument, the disclosure Chapter 203E, Section 1010(a) describes when it keeps a trustee off a contract personally where that capacity was disclosed. A bold line closes the operative section: the covenants reach claims traced through the trust and its trustee, not earlier links in the chain.

A homestead held through the trust

Chapter 188, Section 1 counts the holder of a present, vested and non-contingent beneficial interest in a trust as an owner, so an estate of homestead can attach to a home a trust holds. Clause (4) of Section 10(a) answers for trust-held title: a deed or a release of homestead executed by the trustee ends the homestead, as does action by a beneficial owner named in the declaration. Subsection (b) keeps a homestead standing on a deed between a trustee and a trust beneficiary unless every person entitled to its benefit executes an express release. Section 12 states the trustee's release, and Section 14 is a labeled release line, with its own certificate, for a person holding a homestead estate in the property; it stays blank on a deed no such person signs.

One trustee, one signature line, one trust

The form recites one trustee as grantor, one signature block above a printed name carrying the capacity, and one certificate for it, the second certificate belonging to the homestead release. A successor trustee selling a settlor's home after the settlor's death, a trustee distributing trust real estate to a beneficiary, and a nominee trust trustee conveying at the beneficiaries' written direction all present the pattern this deed recites. The form is not set up for an owner conveying in an individual right, for two or more record owners, for co-trustees who must act together, for an entity signer, or for a personal representative or attorney-in-fact. Searches for a Massachusetts trustee deed or a quit claim deed out of a trust describe this configuration.

Excise stamps and the registry district

Recording happens in the registry district covering the town where the land sits, at the statewide deed fee of $155, and the Chapter 64D deeds excise is computed on the consideration Chapter 183, Section 6 has the deed recite in full. Most counties collect $2.28 for each $500 or fraction; Barnstable County collects $3.24. The completed example runs a Barnstable County sale in Sandwich at $535,000, which draws $3,466.80 in stamps. Land in Dukes County or on Nantucket clears an island land bank first.

The download delivers this trustee quitclaim deed as a fillable PDF, with the completed example and a guide walking each numbered section, both certificates, the homestead release, and recording. The materials describe Massachusetts law in general terms and are not legal advice.