Wisconsin Quitclaim Deed
A Wisconsin quitclaim deed (or quit claim deed) transfers your interest with no warranty. Record it with the register of deeds and file the eRETR return.
Introduction
A quitclaim deed is a document that transfers whatever ownership interest you have in real estate to someone else, with no promise that your title is good or even that you own anything. That is the key difference from a warranty deed, which does promise clear title and lets the grantee sue if the title turns out to be flawed. A quitclaim simply passes along whatever interest you hold, so people use it for lower-risk transfers between people who already trust each other: adding or removing a spouse after a divorce, moving a home into a living trust, or clearing up a possible claim on a title. In Wisconsin the person giving up the interest is the grantor and the person receiving it is the grantee. Wisconsin codifies this directly: under Wis. Stat. Section 706.10(4) a quitclaim deed passes all of the interest the grantor could lawfully convey but does not warrant the existence, quantity, or quality of that interest. To record the deed you sign it and have it acknowledged (notarized) or authenticated, then record it with the register of deeds of the county where the land lies. A completed electronic transfer return and the real estate transfer fee are due before the register will record it. Attorney review is available as an option before you sign.
Key Things to Know
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A quitclaim deed transfers only the interest you actually have. It passes whatever ownership you hold in the property to the grantee (the person receiving it) 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, sometimes typed as a quit claim deed, is used mainly between people who trust each other.
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Record it with the register of deeds. Under Wis. Stat. Section 706.05 a Wisconsin conveyance is recorded in the office of the register of deeds of each county in which the land lies. Recording protects the grantee against a later buyer under the state's race-notice priority rule (Wis. Stat. Section 706.08).
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You must acknowledge or authenticate the deed. To be recorded, a Wisconsin quitclaim deed must carry a form of authentication: either a notarial acknowledgment or an authentication by a public officer or a Wisconsin State Bar member (Wis. Stat. Sections 706.05 and 706.06). Acknowledgment (a signed statement before a notary) is the usual method.
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No witnesses are required. Wisconsin does not require witnesses on a deed. The validity list in Wis. Stat. Section 706.02 contains no witness item, and Section 706.05(6) bars the register from rejecting a deed for the absence of witnesses. Acknowledgment or authentication, not witnesses, is the operative recording formality.
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Pay the real estate transfer fee and file an eRETR. Wisconsin imposes a real estate transfer fee on the grantor of 30 cents for each $100 of value (Wis. Stat. Section 77.22). A completed electronic Real Estate Transfer Return (eRETR) and payment of the fee are prerequisites to recording. Transfers between spouses and several other categories are exempt under Section 77.25, but the exemption reason must be stated on the face of the deed.
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There is no Wisconsin quitclaim form to fill in. Wisconsin has no prescribed statutory quitclaim deed form. Instead Wis. Stat. Section 706.02 sets the required contents: it must identify the parties, identify the land, identify the interest conveyed, be signed by each grantor, and be delivered.
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A spouse must join to convey a homestead. Wisconsin is a marital-property state. Under Wis. Stat. Section 706.02(1)(f) a deed that conveys any interest in a married person's homestead is not valid unless each spouse signs it or joins by a separate conveyance, except for a conveyance between the spouses. Common quitclaim uses include divorce transfers, adding or removing a spouse, and moving a home into a living trust.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Quitclaim Deed in Wisconsin, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Quitclaim Deed guide walks through them.
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Wisconsin Requirements for Quitclaim Deed
To be recorded, a Wisconsin quitclaim deed must carry a form of authentication. Wis. Stat. Section 706.05 requires an authentication authorized by Section 706.06, which allows either a notarial acknowledgment or an authentication endorsed by a public officer or a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin. Acknowledgment before a notary is the usual method.
Wisconsin does not require witnesses on a deed. The validity requisites in Wis. Stat. Section 706.02 include no witness item, and Section 706.05(6) states that no instrument may be denied acceptance for record because of the absence of witnesses. Acknowledgment or authentication, not witnesses, is the operative recording formality.
Record the signed, acknowledged deed in the office of the register of deeds of each county in which the land lies (Wis. Stat. Section 706.05). Recording protects the grantee against a later buyer under Wisconsin's race-notice priority rule: under Wis. Stat. Section 706.08 an unrecorded conveyance is void against a later good-faith purchaser for value who records first.
Wisconsin imposes a real estate transfer fee on the grantor at the rate of 30 cents for each $100 of value or fraction of it (Wis. Stat. Section 77.22). The register of deeds collects the fee when the deed is submitted. If the conveyance is exempt under Wis. Stat. Section 77.25, the reason for the exemption must be stated on the face of the deed by reference to the proper subsection.
A completed real estate transfer return must accompany the deed, and Wis. Stat. Section 77.22 requires it to be filed electronically as the eRETR. Submission of the completed return and collection of the transfer fee by the register are prerequisites to accepting the conveyance for recording (Wis. Stat. Sections 77.22 and 706.05), so file the eRETR before you record.
Wisconsin has no prescribed statutory quitclaim deed form. Instead Wis. Stat. Section 706.02 sets the required contents: the deed must identify the parties, identify the land, identify the interest conveyed, be signed by each grantor, and be delivered. Wis. Stat. Section 706.10(4) supplies the quitclaim effect, passing the grantor's interest with no warranty of title.
Wisconsin is a marital-property state. Under Wis. Stat. Section 706.02(1)(f) a deed that conveys any interest in a married person's homestead is not valid unless each spouse signs it or joins by a separate conveyance, except for a conveyance between the spouses. The homestead is the dwelling and the land reasonably needed to use it as a home (Wis. Stat. Section 706.01).
The deed must substantially comply with Wisconsin's document format rules (Wis. Stat. Section 59.43). The first page must contain a blank space of at least 3 inches by 3 inches in the upper right corner for recording information; a document without it may not be recorded. The rules also set page size, margins, ink color, and require the drafter's name to appear on the deed.
Frequently Asked Questions
A quitclaim deed is a deed that transfers whatever interest you have in Wisconsin real estate to someone else, without any warranty that the title is good. It is often typed as a quit claim deed. Wis. Stat. Section 706.10(4) says a quitclaim deed passes all of the interest the grantor could lawfully convey but does not warrant the existence, quantity, or quality of that interest. It simply passes along the interest you hold, if any.
The difference is the promise about title. A Wisconsin warranty deed guarantees that the grantor owns the property and that the title is clear, and the grantee can sue if that turns out to be false. A quitclaim deed makes no such promise. Under Wis. Stat. Section 706.10(4) it passes only the interest the grantor could lawfully convey and warrants nothing, so a quitclaim suits transfers between family members or into a trust, not an arm's length sale.
To record it, yes, in practice. A Wisconsin deed offered for recording must carry a form of authentication under Wis. Stat. Sections 706.05 and 706.06. That is normally a notarial acknowledgment, a signed statement made before a notary public, though a public officer or a Wisconsin State Bar member may instead authenticate the signature. Without acknowledgment or authentication the register of deeds will not record the deed.
You record it in the office of the register of deeds of the county where the property is located, as Wis. Stat. Section 706.05 requires. Recording gives public notice and protects the grantee against a later buyer under Wisconsin's race-notice priority rule (Wis. Stat. Section 706.08). You must also file a completed electronic transfer return (eRETR) and pay the transfer fee when you record.
You pay the register of deeds' recording fee plus the real estate transfer fee. The transfer fee is imposed on the grantor at 30 cents for each $100 of value under Wis. Stat. Section 77.22. Some transfers are exempt under Section 77.25, including a transfer between spouses, a transfer to a child for nominal consideration, and a transfer of real estate worth $1,000 or less; the exemption reason must be stated on the face of the deed.
No. Recording a quitclaim deed with the register of deeds moves your interest in the land to the grantee, but it does not reach the lender's mortgage lien or the promissory note. Under Wis. Stat. Section 706.10(4) the deed passes only your interest, so if your name is on the loan you stay personally liable even after you quitclaim that interest away. To be released you usually need the lender to refinance the loan or sign a release.
For a homestead, yes. Wisconsin is a marital-property state, and Wis. Stat. Section 706.02(1)(f) makes a deed that conveys any interest in a married person's homestead invalid unless each spouse signs it or joins by a separate conveyance. The main exception is a conveyance between the spouses themselves. The homestead is the couple's dwelling and the land reasonably needed to use it as a home.
No. Under Wis. Stat. Section 706.10(4) a quitclaim deed passes only the interest the grantor could lawfully convey and warrants nothing, so it cannot clear an existing lien or mortgage or prove the grantor owned anything. Recording it with the register of deeds fixes your priority under Wisconsin's race-notice rule (Wis. Stat. Section 706.08) but does not verify title. A title search and title insurance give the title protection a quitclaim does not.