Washington County Deed Without Warranty (Signed by Attorney-in-Fact) Form

A Texas deed without warranty does something a quitclaim cannot: it conveys the property itself, while telling the grantee plainly that the grantor stands behind nothing about the title. This form prepares that deed for the situation where the owner does not sign it. An agent, acting under a durable power of attorney, signs on the owner's behalf.

Conveying the Property, Warranting Nothing

Two sections of the Texas Property Code define the instrument. Section 5.022 states that a covenant of warranty is not required in a conveyance and lets parties use any lawful clause or form, so a deed can pass title while promising nothing about it. Section 5.023 is the reason the disclaimer is spelled out rather than assumed: unless the deed expressly provides otherwise, the words grant and convey imply two limited covenants, that the grantor has not already conveyed the estate to someone else and that the estate is free from encumbrances. This form uses words of grant to carry the conveyance and then expressly excludes those implied covenants, so the language that transfers the property does not quietly import promises the grantor never meant to make.

Why It Is Not a Quitclaim

The distinction matters in Texas. A deed without warranty conveys the property; a quitclaim passes only whatever right, title, and interest the grantor happens to hold. Texas courts read the instrument as a whole to decide which it is, asking whether the language conveys the property or merely the grantor's rights. This form conveys the Property with words of grant and states that it conveys the property itself, not merely an interest, so it operates as a deed without warranty rather than a quitclaim, a difference that affects after-acquired title and how a later buyer is treated.

Signing Through an Agent

On this variant the owner has appointed an agent, also called an attorney-in-fact, under a durable power of attorney governed by Estates Code Chapters 751 and 752. A power of attorney is durable when it stays effective through the principal's later incapacity, and for the agent to sign a deed it grants authority over real property transactions. The form identifies the power of attorney by date and, where it has been recorded, by its recording reference, so the deed shows the source of the agent's authority on its face. The agent signs in a representative capacity, and the notary completes the acknowledgment Texas prescribes for a person acting by attorney-in-fact, naming the agent as attorney-in-fact on behalf of the principal.

Two Instruments at the Clerk's Office

Recording this deed brings a step an ordinary deed does not. Under Estates Code Section 751.151, a durable power of attorney used for a recorded real property transaction must itself be recorded in the county where the property sits, no later than the thirtieth day after the deed is filed. In practice the power of attorney and the deed are recorded together, so the records show both the conveyance and the authority behind it. The confidentiality notice required by Property Code Section 11.008 appears at the top of the first page, and the deed is recorded with the county clerk of the county where the property is located.

What Is Included

• The blank deed as a fillable PDF, completed on screen or printed and filled in by hand
• A plain-language guide that walks through every section, the agency recitals, and the recording of the power of attorney
• A completed example showing the whole deed filled in for a realistic Texas fact pattern

The materials are informational and are not legal advice. Whether a deed without warranty fits a transaction, and how homestead joinder and the scope of an agent's authority apply to a particular property, are questions a Texas attorney can address.