Missouri Quitclaim Deed

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   A quitclaim deed transfers only the interest you actually have. It passes whatever ownership you hold in the property to the grantee and makes no promise that the title is clear, or even that you own anything. A warranty deed, by contrast, guarantees the title, which is why a quitclaim (often typed quit claim deed) is used mainly between people who trust each other.

2. 2

   Record it with the recorder of deeds. Under Mo. Rev. Stat. Section 442.380 a Missouri deed is recorded in the office of the recorder of the county where the real estate is situated (in the City of St. Louis, the city recorder of deeds). Recording gives public notice and protects the grantee against a later buyer under the state's notice rule (Mo. Rev. Stat. Section 442.400).

3. 3

   You must sign before a notary. To be recorded, a Missouri quitclaim deed must be subscribed by the grantor and acknowledged (Mo. Rev. Stat. Section 442.130). A notary public is an officer authorized to take that acknowledgment (Mo. Rev. Stat. Section 442.150).

4. 4

   No witnesses are required, but you must state marital status. Missouri does not require subscribing witnesses on a deed. However, Mo. Rev. Stat. Section 442.130 requires the deed to state whether each natural person signing as grantor is married or unmarried.

5. 5

   Missouri charges no transfer tax. The state imposes no real estate transfer tax, documentary stamp tax, or deed tax, so you file no tax or declaration of value with the deed. You still pay the recorder's flat recording fee.

6. 6

   There is no Missouri quitclaim form. Missouri statutes do not prescribe a quitclaim deed form or even define a quitclaim deed. Common practice uses the words remise, release, and quitclaim. Because the deed omits the words grant, bargain and sell, the implied covenants those words create under Mo. Rev. Stat. Section 442.420 never attach, and the deed passes only the grantor's estate under Section 442.460.

7. 7

   A married grantor should have the spouse join. Missouri is not a community-property state, but for a homestead either spouse acting alone cannot sell or alienate it and such a conveyance is void unless both spouses join (Mo. Rev. Stat. Section 513.475). A conveyance by a married person without the spouse's joinder or written assent is presumed to be in fraud of the spouse's marital rights (Mo. Rev. Stat. Section 474.150). Common quitclaim uses include divorce transfers and moving a home into a living trust.

Missouri Requirements for Quitclaim Deed

• Sign Before a Notary Public

  To record a Missouri quitclaim deed the grantor must subscribe it and it must be acknowledged (Mo. Rev. Stat. Section 442.130). A notary public is an officer authorized to take that acknowledgment (Mo. Rev. Stat. Section 442.150). Without an acknowledgment the recorder of deeds will not record the deed.

• No Witnesses Are Required

  Missouri does not require subscribing witnesses on a deed. Mo. Rev. Stat. Section 442.130 requires only that the grantor subscribe the deed and that it be acknowledged; notarial acknowledgment, not witnesses, is what allows the deed to be recorded.

• State the Grantor's Marital Status on the Deed

  Mo. Rev. Stat. Section 442.130 requires every instrument conveying real estate to state whether each natural person acting as a grantor is married or unmarried. Include that statement on the face of the deed so the recorder of deeds will accept it.

• Record With the County Recorder of Deeds

  Record the signed, notarized deed with the recorder of deeds of the county where the property is located (Mo. Rev. Stat. Section 442.380); in the City of St. Louis it is the city recorder of deeds. Until the deed is recorded it is not valid against a later purchaser who lacks actual notice of it (Mo. Rev. Stat. Section 442.400).

• Missouri Charges No Transfer Tax

  Missouri imposes no state or local real estate transfer tax, documentary stamp tax, or deed tax, so you file no tax form or declaration of value with the deed. Your cost at the courthouse is the recorder of deeds' flat recording fee, set by the county under the recorder statutes.

• There Is No Missouri Quitclaim Form

  Missouri statutes do not prescribe a quitclaim deed form or define a quitclaim deed. Common practice uses the words remise, release, and quitclaim. Because the deed omits the words grant, bargain and sell, the covenants those words imply under Mo. Rev. Stat. Section 442.420 do not attach, and the deed passes only the grantor's estate under Section 442.460, with no warranty of title.

• A Married Grantor Should Have the Spouse Join

  A conveyance of real estate by a married person without the spouse's joinder or written, acknowledged assent is presumed to be in fraud of the spouse's marital rights if that spouse survives (Mo. Rev. Stat. Section 474.150). To avoid that presumption, a married grantor should have the non-owner spouse join the deed or sign a written assent.

• Both Spouses Must Sign to Convey a Homestead

  For a homestead, Mo. Rev. Stat. Section 513.475 bars either spouse acting alone from selling, mortgaging, or alienating it and declares such a conveyance null and void unless the spouses join. If the property is the couple's homestead, both spouses must sign the quitclaim deed.