Smith County Special Warranty Deed (Corporation Grantor) Form

When a Texas corporation conveys real estate, the deed most transactions settle on is the special warranty deed: full words of grant, a genuine covenant of title, and a boundary on that covenant at the edge of the corporation's own ownership. This form prepares that deed for a corporate grantor under Texas Property Code Sections 5.021 through 5.023, with the corporate signature block and the corporate acknowledgment the county records expect.

A warranty measured by the grantor's tenure

Texas lets the parties set a deed's warranty by its words; Section 5.022(b) provides that a covenant of warranty is not required in a conveyance at all. A special warranty deed uses the same covenant a general warranty deed carries, to WARRANT AND FOREVER DEFEND the property, then adds the phrase that defines the instrument: when the claim is by, through, or under Grantor, but not otherwise. The corporation stands behind everything that happened on its own watch, liens it created or suffered and conveyances it made, while defects that predate its ownership stay where commercial practice leaves them, with the title examination and the title insurance in the transaction.

A conveyance, not a quitclaim

The Texas Supreme Court reads an instrument as a conveyance or a quitclaim by asking whether its language passes the property itself or only the maker's right, title, and interest. That distinction has consequences for later purchasers, so this form conveys the Property with the statutory words of grant, GRANTS, SELLS, AND CONVEYS, together with the traditional habendum. It also handles the implied covenants of Section 5.023 expressly, limiting them to the same by, through, or under scope as the warranty and making them subject to the reservations and exceptions the form lists, so the deed's stated warranty and its implied one match.

Signing for a corporation

Execution is where an entity deed differs from an individual one. The Business Organizations Code gives a corporation the power to convey real property and gives its deed effect with or without a corporate seal; for a for-profit corporation, shareholder approval enters only when the transaction is a sale of all or substantially all assets. One officer or authorized agent signs on the corporation's behalf, with the corporation's name, a By signature line, and the signer's printed name and title in the signature section. The notary certificate completes to the corporate short form of Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 121.008: the named officer, of the named corporation, on behalf of said corporation. Because the grantor is an entity, no spousal joinder question arises.

Ready for the county records

The deed is recorded with the county clerk of the county where the property is located, with the Property Code Section 11.008 confidentiality notice at the top of the first page and reserved space for the recording stamp. For documents presented in person on or after December 4, 2025, the clerk also requires photo identification from the presenter under the 2025 deed fraud legislation. The package includes the blank deed as a fillable PDF, a completed example on a realistic Tarrant County fact pattern, and a plain language guide covering every numbered section; the materials are informational and are not legal advice.