quitclaim without title

[13th___Floor]

Caifornia
Can I quitclaim land that I not title to?

[ShyCat]

Of course not! Do you really think you could quitclaim your neighbor's house (for example) to someone else?

[13th___Floor]

If an heir qiutclaimed property that they didnot have title to does the quitclaim become valid once they have title?

[FlyingRon]

Actually you CAN quit claim anything.

That's what makes a quit claim different than a warranty deed. No representation is made as to whether there is any interest to be conveyed.

If you don't own any interest in the property, the quit claim deed is worthless to the grantee.

This is why it is generally a bad idea to receive property via such a deed. The intent of a quit claim (hence it's name) is to wash your hands of any potential ownership in a property (even if you don't think you have any).

[justalayman]

Originally Posted by ShyCat

Of course not! Do you really think you could quitclaim your neighbor's house (for example) to someone else?

sorry shycat but you are wrong. I actually can quitclaim MY INTEREST in my neighbors house to another party. Of course I cannot grant the title holders interest, just mine.

a quitclaim is used to transfer your interest, if any, to the grantee. It is often used to remove a cloud over a title. It clears up any questions as to IF the grantor has interest, he now relinquishes it.

[justalayman]

Originally Posted by 13th___Floor

If an heir qiutclaimed property that they didnot have title to does the quitclaim become valid once they have title?

a QC is valid at the time of execution.

So, you are asking is it possible to grant a future interest in a property.

there are a lot of nuances that can change exactly what a QC does control but in the simplest of situations, the QC deed does give interest in title to the grantee at the time the grantor gains interest.

So, effectively, the grantor never actually has title to the property. It bypasses them.

[tranquility]

My understanding is a quit claim gives up the grantor's rights in a property. If the grantor does not happen to have any rights, it does not make a quitclaim illegal, it's just not going to transfer anything. In community property states, when refinancing seperate property, the bank will often ask for a quit claim from the spouse even though they believe the spouse has no rights to the property. This is to prevent any future clouds on the title.

Once we start talking about "future" rights to property, we get in the tall grass quickly. Many "future" rights are actually present rights where possession is not had even if the odds of possession are slight. (To my sister and her son unless they are not then living then to cousin Bob if alive.) These things can be given up with a quit claim. True, "future", rights are much harder to give up as they don't exist as yet. I'm not sure you can quit claim a potential inheritance of a property.

[justalayman]

Originally Posted by tranquility

True, "future", rights are much harder to give up as they don't exist as yet. I'm not sure you can quit claim a potential inheritance of a property.

I know you are into study of a subject. This article, although discussing how the writer believes thing should be altered, does cite many current cases and refers to many statutes that do provide direction in this matter. From what I could see, in a short view of the article, is that dependant on the state involved, one can in fact transfer such a future interest. Some states apparenlty and coversely hold a differing opinion.

It does seem to be very complex and become more so should anything in the grantors life situation change.

[url]http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3655/is_200304/ai_n9196123/pg_1[/url]

[tranquility]

I didn't read the article as yet, but I did take a quick glance. This is why I put quotes around the word future in my post. Future interests can be conveyed for the most part. But, they represent a real thing now. A reversionary interest could be something like (To my brother in law bob unless he divorces my sister and then back to me.) and represent a present right which may or may not revert. Property gets technical and dirty very quickly and precise terms are difficult for those, like myself, who don't wallow in it every day. Little things make a big difference. I do agree that presently owned "future interests" can be conveyed in most places. When we start talking about if the interest is vested or not or if it is in existence or not, then the conversation gets much harder and I'd have to dig out the hornbook to flashback on something which I'm sure I knew at one point, but only suspect today.

[seniorjudge]

Originally Posted by 13th___Floor

If an heir qiutclaimed property that they didnot have title to does the quitclaim become valid once they have title?

No. This is called after-acquired title. A QCD conveys only what interest, if any, the grantor (person who signs it) has at the moment the QCD is signed.

[tranquility]

What is "title"? I agree someone has great problems transferring something they don't own. But, future interests are something owned presently and, if there are no vesting issues, they may very well be transferred.

[justalayman]

I would think that the very specific information of any given situation would be required to make a true call on any of this. The OP's question itself is quite vague.

Since I have 2 of the most learned members of the forum responding to this. I have a question that pertains to this:


in the QC deed, which apparently only grants current title (however we want to define that) is it possible to include specifically ones future interest in the QC deed.

Something such as:

For xx compensation, I justalayman, grant all rights and interest, both current and future, to tranq and seniorjudge.

and so on...

[seniorjudge]

Originally Posted by tranquility

What is "title"? I agree someone has great problems transferring something they don't own. But, future interests are something owned presently and, if there are no vesting issues, they may very well be transferred.

Sure future interests may be transferred. But they must be vested before they can be transferred.

There is no vesting here:

If an heir qiutclaimed property that they didnot have title to does the quitclaim become valid once they have title?

[Some Random Guy]

For xx compensation, I justalayman, grant all rights and interest, both current and future, to tranq and seniorjudge.

This sounds far too vague and could cause major problems in the future. For example, JustALayman, Tranquility and SeniorJudge are all siblings whose parents pass away, leaving the proerty to their three children.

What you proposed would be useful during the initial property transfer, but would be a disaster if, ten years down the road, JustALayman buys the property back from his siblings. According to this wording, as soon as JustALayman buys the property, it reverts back to ownership by Tranquility and SeniorJudge.

Future interest in a property would be better handled by a contract instead of a QC deed.

[seniorjudge]

Originally Posted by Some Random Guy

...
JustALayman, Tranquility and SeniorJudge are all siblings
...

Yeah, well mom always liked me best, Tranq's room was ALWAYS a mess and JAL...I don't even want to go there!