Massachusetts Quitclaim Deed

A Massachusetts quitclaim deed is not the bare, promise-free release that carries the same name in most other states. Under General Laws Chapter 183, Sections 11 and 17, the phrase with quitclaim covenants binds the grantor to warrant and defend the title against the claims of anyone claiming by, through, or under the grantor, but against none other, and that covenant package makes the quitclaim deed the standard conveyancing instrument in Massachusetts practice. This version of the form recites one individual grantor: one owner of record, one signature line, one acknowledgment certificate, and a labeled homestead release block for a non-owner spouse.

A quitclaim with covenants behind it

Chapter 183, Section 11 gives a deed following the statutory Quitclaim Deed form the force of a deed in fee simple with covenants that the premises are free from all encumbrances made by the grantor and that the grantor will warrant and defend against claims arising by, through, or under the grantor. Section 17 packs that entire covenant into the shorthand phrase quitclaim covenants, and this deed both uses the phrase and writes the covenant out, so the instrument reads complete on its face. The result occupies the ground a special warranty deed or limited warranty deed occupies elsewhere: the grantor stands behind the grantor's own period of ownership, while defects that predate it sit outside the covenants, the line the Supreme Judicial Court applied in Farris v. Hershfield. An encumbrances section lists the mortgages, easements, and other matters the conveyance is subject to, and the deed excepts the listed matters from the covenant. A search for a Massachusetts quit claim deed or release deed form lands on this same statutory instrument.

One grantor, one certificate, and the homestead release

The deed recites exactly one grantor of record, who signs before a notary public; the acknowledgment certificate carries the substance of the statutory form in General Laws Chapter 222, Section 15, with the notary's printed name and commission expiration the registries look for. Section 10 of the deed is a separate labeled signature line for a non-owner spouse or former spouse who occupies the property as a principal residence: under Chapter 188, Section 10, a deed to someone outside the family terminates an existing estate of homestead only when that person signs together with the owner. The block carries its own acknowledgment certificate and remains empty when no such spouse exists. A sole owner conveying to a buyer, an unmarried owner passing title to family, and a married owner who holds record title alone with a spouse joining to release homestead all present the single-grantor pattern this deed recites. The form is not set up as a two-grantor, entity, or fiduciary instrument; those configurations recite different signature and capacity patterns.

What the registry looks for

The deed is recorded at the registry of deeds for the county or registry district where the land lies. Chapter 183 states three content rules the registries apply at the counter, and the form carries a blank for each: Section 6 calls for the grantee's full name, residence, and post-office address along with a recital of the full consideration in dollars; Section 6A calls for a title reference identifying the land by a prior recorded deed or plan, the customary being-the-same-premises sentence; and Section 6B calls for the property's street address. The statewide recording fee for a deed is $155, and the deeds excise under Chapter 64D runs $2.28 per $500 of consideration or fraction, $3.24 per $500 in Barnstable County, paid by excise stamps at recording. The completed example shows a Worcester District Registry of Deeds fact pattern with every blank filled the way the registry sees it, from the covenant language to the excise-bearing consideration recital.

What the download includes

The package delivers the fillable quitclaim deed, the completed example, and a guide that walks through each section of the form, the acknowledgment certificate, the homestead release, and the recording steps, including the deeds excise and the assessor transfer reporting that accompany a Massachusetts deed. The materials describe Massachusetts law in general terms and are not legal advice.