Missouri Quitclaim Deed (Divorce)

By the time this Missouri quitclaim deed is signed, a court has already spoken. A judgment of dissolution of marriage ends the marriage, and with it the tenancy by the entirety Missouri presumes when spouses take title together, leaving two former spouses with undivided shares as tenants in common. The deed carries the next step into the land records: one former spouse releases whatever interest that person holds in the described property to the other, without covenant or warranty of title, naming on its face the court, case number, and date of the judgment behind it.

What the judgment did, and what the deed adds

Under Section 452.330.1 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri the dissolution court sets apart nonmarital property and divides the marital property in proportions it considers just, and Section 452.330.5 makes that distribution a final order not subject to modification. Ronollo v. Jacobs, 775 S.W.2d 121 (Mo. banc 1989), supplies the ownership consequence: divorce destroys a tenancy by the entirety and converts the former spouses into tenants in common. The judgment has a recording route of its own, since Section 452.330.6 lets the clerk of the court file a certified copy where the land lies. The deed adds a conveyance signed by the former spouse releasing it.

The blanks that name the judgment

Section 5 is this variant's own section: the court that entered the judgment, the case number, the date of the judgment, the date of a separation agreement incorporated in it, and the recording reference where a certified copy is of record. That fourth line reaches Section 452.325.4(1), under which such an agreement's terms are set forth in the decree unless it provides otherwise, and the parties are ordered to perform them. Section 7 adds that the deed is made with reference to the judgment and does not modify it.

One former spouse signs, and no spouse joins

The form recites exactly one Grantor, a natural person whose marriage to the Grantee was dissolved by the judgment named in Section 5, and exactly one Grantee, that former spouse, who takes the interest and signs nothing. One signature line and one acknowledgment certificate carry the execution, the certificate holding the substance of the short form in Section 442.210.1(1) plus the officer's line for physical or remote appearance under Section 442.145. Page one carries the married or unmarried statement Section 442.130.2 draws from a natural person executing a conveyance, reading unmarried where the Grantor has not remarried. No joinder block appears, since Section 513.475 and Section 474.150.2 attach to the real estate of a married person and the judgment ended that marriage. Patterns appearing in the records here include a judgment awarding the residence to one former spouse while the other releases the interest that stood in both names. A conveyance made while the marriage still subsists, and a deed signed by two record owners, a trustee, or a company officer, each recite different execution sections.

Quitclaim words, and the liability that stays put

Missouri hangs implied title covenants on three particular words. Section 442.420 gives a fee simple conveyance made with the words grant, bargain and sell limited covenants of title unless express terms restrain them, and this deed stays clear of that trigger: it remises, releases, and forever quitclaims, and Section 8 says in terms that no covenant of title arises from anything written in it. Only the interest held at delivery moves, leaving Section 442.430 and after acquired title aside. Liens, easements, and taxes keep burdening the parcel, and a promissory note stays with the lender: a divorce quit claim deed moves record title, while a judgment allocating mortgage debt operates between the former spouses.

Page one, and filing where the land lies

Sections 59.310 and 59.313 keep the top three inches of page one clear for the recorder and list what prints below: title, date, the parties, grantor marital status, the grantee mailing address Section 59.330.2 calls for, and a reference locating the legal description in Section 4. Filing goes to the recorder of deeds where the property sits, and from filing the record imparts notice to all persons. Missouri taxes no transfer of real estate.

Three files come with the purchase: this deed after divorce as a fillable PDF, a completed Greene County example running a Springfield residence end to end, and a plain language guide to the blanks, the statutes, and recording. The materials describe Missouri law generally, for information, and are not legal advice.