Which type of deed do I need?

[JNH0123]

I live in Missouri. My father is giving me 10 acres for my husband and I to put a house on. He already owns the land. I have researched deeds and I found two that applies to the situation. It says that a quit claim deed is commonly used in inter-family transfers. However, it says that the grantor is just transferring interest in the real estate. Also, it says that a quit claim deed is to just add or remove someone from the deed. It also mentioned that someone else can try to claim the land in the future. The other deed I read about was a warranty deed. It stated that with a warranty deed the grantor is adding a family member to the deed and removing themselves, which is what we want. I think that the warranty deed will work best for us but I just want to make sure. Which deed is best for the situation? Thank you for the advice. God bless!

 

[FlyingRon]

There are three major sorts of deeds. A quit claim transfers whatever ownership the grantor has to the grantee without making any representations (or "guarantees") as to what that interest is. Your father could quit claim it to you but that deed might be worthless if he doesn't actually own it (or there is a lien or some sort of other title cloud you could be in trouble).

The other types are called warranty deeds. The general warranty deed is the best to have because it says that the grantor gives you the property and represents that he is indeed the free and clear owner of it and if that's not true, you can come after him for damages. A special warranty deed qualifies that warranty. Typically, it says that the grantor didn't personally do anything that would encumber the property...i.e., he has caused no liens or whatever to be recorded against the property, but doesn't warranty things that happened before he came into possession.

What you want to do is obtain owner's title insurance on the property in any event. I wouldn't even take the gift of property from my sainted aunt without title insurance. You could come to find out years later that there was some dispute in the chain of title or unpaid tax bill or unnoticed lien that will bite you after you've been paying taxes and/or improving the property on your nickle.