Virginia Quitclaim Deed (Divorce)

This Virginia quitclaim deed carries one signature, and the reason sits in the divorce statute rather than in the deed. Code of Virginia Section 20-111 provides that upon the entry of a decree of divorce from the bond of matrimony the contingent rights of each consort in the property of the other are extinguished, including the right of survivorship in property titled as joint tenants or as tenants by the entirety, and an estate by the entirety is thereupon converted into a tenancy in common. What the decree leaves behind is an undivided share in each former spouse, and this deed moves one of those shares to the other party.

The signature configuration a decree produces

The form recites exactly one grantor, an individual signing personally, with a single signature line and one acknowledgment certificate. Section 3 takes both names with each individual surname in capital letters, the relationship of the two people, and the ownership designation for the receiving party, who signs nothing. Section 4 takes the court, the case number, the date the decree was entered, the date of any property settlement agreement, and the recording reference of the decree itself. A former spouse releasing the undivided one-half interest a final decree left standing as a tenancy in common, and a former spouse carrying out an order that jointly owned marital property go to the other party, present the pattern these recitals carry. Two grantors signing together, the configuration Section 55.1-136(B) calls for while an entireties estate still stands of record, run on other recitals, as do fiduciary, entity, and attorney-in-fact capacities.

What the court can order, and where the order goes

Section 20-107.3 supplies the property powers this deed follows. Under subsection A the court determines legal title as between the parties and classifies what they own as separate, marital, or part of each. Under subsection C it may transfer or order the transfer of jointly owned marital property to one of them, permit one to buy out the other, or order a sale without the necessity for partition. The same subsection routes the paperwork into the land records: orders and decrees dividing or transferring real property between the parties are to be recorded and indexed in the names of the parties in the grantor and grantee indexes where the property lies. The decree, prepared and recorded separately from this package, and the deed end up in the same books under the same two names.

One exemption reaching three charges

Section 58.1-811(A)(15) lifts the taxes of Sections 58.1-801 and 58.1-807 from a deed transferring property pursuant to a decree of divorce or of separate maintenance, or pursuant to a written instrument incident to such divorce or separation. Section 58.1-811(C)(1) carries that same transaction out of the grantor tax of Section 58.1-802 and out of the regional transportation fees of Sections 58.1-802.3, 58.1-802.4, and 58.1-802.5, which are collected in the Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads localities. Section 2 takes what was paid, the assessed figure Section 58.1-801 uses to measure value, the exemption claimed, and the sentence the deed makes about itself; the example claims both subsections on a Loudoun County transfer where nothing passed. Clerk fees and the flat filing charges are collected all the same.

What the release withholds, and what rides through it

Virginia reads covenant language rather than the caption at the top of a page. Section 55.1-363 gives words of release the force of a remise, release, and forever quitclaim of whatever the grantor holds at law and in equity, and the conveyance in Section 8 speaks that way, while every phrase Sections 55.1-354 through 55.1-362 turn into a covenant is left out. Section 9 states in capitals that no warranty of title is made, and adds the point this transaction turns on: a deed of trust is neither released nor assumed by the transfer, and no obligation on the note changes because a name came off the title.

Buyers search for this instrument as a divorce deed, a quit claim deed after divorce, or a deed transferring a house in a divorce settlement; this package prepares the Virginia quitclaim deed for one spouse or former spouse conveying under a decree. Three files arrive: the blank deed as a fillable PDF, the completed Loudoun County example, and a plain-language guide covering each blank, notarization under Title 47.1, and the charges collected at the clerk's counter. These materials describe Virginia law in general terms and are not legal advice.