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Shawn Breyer
Are you thinking about getting a Georgia quitclaim deed?
In this article, you’re going to learn about:
So, let’s dig right in.
First, let’s talk about what is a Georgia quitclaim deed.
They can also get spelled as “quick claim deed.”
There are no differences here.
They are the same type of deed.
“Quick claim deed” is just a mispronunciation.
A quitclaim deed in Georgia is the fastest way to transfer your interests in a property
Usually, you are transferring your interests to a buyer or family member.
When you quitclaim property, you are quitting your claim to that property.
Basically, you are relinquishing your claim to the property in the state of Georgia.
It’s important to note that Georgia quitclaim deeds offer zero protection for the buyer.
The seller is called the ‘grantor’ and the buyer is called a ‘grantee.’
Quitclaim deeds in Georgia are also known as non-warranty deeds.
When a property is quitclaimed, there are no warranties or promises on the quality of the title.
This means that a quitclaim deed in Georgia does NOT guarantee that:
Georgia quitclaim deeds are often used to fix defective titles (clear title) in real estate.
A defective title is one that has a:
Defective titles are considered “unmarketable.”
This means that they cannot be transferred or sold.
The owner has to have a “clear title” before they can sell the real estate.
You can use a quitclaim deed in Georgia if you have defects on the title, such as:
In Atlanta, real estate closing attorneys handle all of this.
They can provide you with a warranty deed.
A warranty deed gives a general warranty that you have a clear title.
Warranty deeds and clear title are very important when transferring real property.
Without a warranty deed, there’s no guarantee you’re buying the real property.
Now we know what the purpose of a Georgia quitclaim deed is.
Let’s talk about the 7 useful things that you can do with a quitclaim deed in Georgia.
(This is not an all-inclusive list.
But these are the most common things that we build quitclaim deeds for in Georgia.)
You’re probably wondering what you can even do with a Georgia quitclaim deed.
And if you do use a quitclaim deed in Georgia:
We’re going to go into all of that with these 7 useful things you can do with a Georgia quitclaim deed.
Georgia quitclaim deeds will remove your spouse from the title of the property.
This pertains to real property like a parcel of land or real estate.
When you are married, you’re holding real property in “joint tenancy.”
Meaning, you own it together in the state of Georgia.
But it will not remove your spouse from the mortgage.
A spouse’s name can only get removed from the mortgage through:
Filing for divorce is a good reason to file a quitclaim deed in Georgia.
If you are using a quitclaim deed to transfer the property, here’s how to set it up.
Both of you will be the grantors on the Georgia quitclaim deed form.
But only the person receiving the property will be the grantee.
Let’s say John and Alice are filing for divorce in Georgia.
John is going to take equity from other assets and let Alice have the house.
Alice and John would both be the grantors since they both have interests in the property.
But only Alice would be the grantee since she is receiving John’s half of the house.
Giving her 100% ownership of the real estate.
And taking John off of the title of the property.
Now one spouse has full ownership of the property.
And the other spouse needs to get taken off the mortgage.
I’m assuming you aren’t going to pay the house off or sell it.
You’re only going to transfer property into one person’s name.
So you only have two options to remove the spouse from the loan.
Those two options are:
Removing the spouse from the loan:
Especially in the event that the spouse with ownership misses payments.
But there are also benefits to the person keeping the house.
Let’s say both spouses are on the title of the property.
Both must agree to sell the property or include it in a will.
Using a quitclaim deed in a divorce or legal separation in Georgia gives sole ownership to one spouse.
This allows them to sell the property or will it to a relative without consent or approval from their ex.
A Georgia quitclaim deed is a good way to pass property to family members.
For example, parents can quitclaim their house to the children as the parents get older.
This gives the children ownership of the real estate or real property
And the parents are still responsible for the mortgage.
But there are tax implications you need to know about.
Let’s assume you are transferring your property to your children via a quitclaim deed.
They would be subject to a “carryover basis” vs “step-up basis.”
You can gift your house to your child while you’re still alive using a quitclaim deed.
When you do this, they will receive the house on the same cost basis that you purchased it at.
Let’s say you paid $200,000 for it 35 years ago.
If they sell your house for $800,000, they would pay capital gains taxes on $600,000.
But let’s say your children inherit your house when you pass
They benefit from a step-up basis when they inherit real property.
Let’s assume the house is worth $750,000 when you die.
This is the new cost basis for them, which is called a step-up basis.
Let’s say they inherit the real estate at $750,000 and sell it at $800,000.
They would only pay capital gains taxes on the $50,000 difference.
In this case, it’s better to let your children inherit the property.
Instead of quit claiming it to them in the state of Georgia.
So why can’t you just gift the house to your kids to bypass probate?
Let’s say you are gifting something to a family member
You can only give a certain amount each year.
The gift limits per year are $15,000 per receiving person.
Let’s say that you are married with three children and you want to gift them each $15,000 per year.
You and your spouse can EACH gift every child $15,000.
| Your Contribution | Spouse's Contribution | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Child #1 | $15,000 | $15,000 | $30,000 |
| Child #2 | $15,000 | $15,000 | $30,000 |
| Child #3 | $15,000 | $15,000 | $30,000 |
| Total Annual Gift Amount | $90,000 |
In this example, you and your spouse can make a total gift amount of $90,000 to your three children tax-free each year.
These gift amounts can be in the form of real property or cash.
Any gifts larger than the $15,000 limit will be taxed at 40%.
The person gifting the money (that’s you) is the person who has to pay those taxes.
I know we have already discussed using quitclaim deeds in Georgia for a divorce.
But what if you’re getting married?
You may want to add your spouse to the property deed when you get married.
Or you may only have gotten a mortgage in one name.
But want to add your spouse to the title of the property.
This is common for spouses who:
A quitclaim deed is an easy way to just add a spouse to the title of the property.
When you quitclaim a property deed to add a spouse, you are not “quitting your claim” to the property.
In this case, you are simply amending the title.
Note that quitclaim deeding them onto the title gives them rights to the property.
But there are two types of rights that they can receive.
It depends on what rights you give them when you quitclaim deed them onto the title.
The two types of rights are:
You might be worried about the whole ordeal of the separate property becoming marital property.
Let’s say you spend even ONE SINGLE DOLLAR on that separate property via marital funds.
It is now marital property.
If you do this, they will have a legal claim to it regardless in a divorce.
Most likely, you will want both spouses to be on the title of the property.
In the event that one spouse dies, the other person gets full ownership of the property.
Without it passing through probate.
But note that this is only true if you set up the title with a joint tenancy.
With the right of survivorship in the state of Georgia.
Fill out the form on this page to have our Atlanta attorneys set this legal form up for you.
Quitclaim deeds in Georgia are useful when trying to clear out clouds on the title.
The types of liens that can cloud a title are:
A lien is a claim or legal right that someone has on your property.
A lien allows someone you owe money to be able to seize the property.
That is if you don’t pay them back.
Liens get used as collateral to satisfy debts.
The property tax assessor will place a tax lien on your house.
When you have not paid property taxes.
Let’s say you go to sell your house when you owe back taxes.
The proceeds from the sale of the house will pay off these tax liens.
But what if you pay off your tax liens?
You may need to have the tax assessor release the tax liens from your property.
Usually, they will automatically remove the liens within 30-60 days.
After you pay off your property taxes.
If you need it done sooner, you can have your attorney file a Request for Lien Release.
This will speed up your tax lien release.
Fill out the form on the page for legal advice from our Atlanta lawyers.
We can provide you with a template for Georgia quitclaim deed forms for lien releases.
You can then file the Georgia quitclaim deed forms at your county clerk’s office.
Or we can handle it all for you.
A mechanics lien is a legal claim for unpaid construction work.
A contractor can file a mechanic’s lien to gain a security interest in the property.
You may pay the general contractor for the work done.
But you can still have a mechanic’s lien on the house.
Let’s say the general contractor doesn’t pay a subcontractor or supplier.
The sub-contractors can place a mechanic’s lien on your property.
Judgment liens are court rulings that give creditors the right to take possession of your property.
Let’s say you don’t pay off a creditor and they have a judgment lien.
They can get paid when you sell your house.
The real estate attorney will pay the creditor off with the proceeds from the sale.
You can use a Georgia quitclaim deed form to change a name on a property.
When doing so, the information you need to include on this legal form is:
Usually, quitclaim deeds are used to change the owner’s name on the title of the property.
This could be in the event of a name change during, say, a marriage.
In this case, the owner would be the grantor and the grantee.
When you are estate planning, you may need to transfer property to a trust.
These trusts will hold your real property for your family.
In this example, you would be the grantor and the trust would be the grantee.
You can quitclaim property into a trust.
You would be quitting your claim on the property and the trust would assume claim to it.
Some people worry that quit claiming property will trigger a due on sale clause.
But federal law does not allow lenders to “call the loan” when you quit claim it into a trust.
Our Atlanta estate planning lawyers know how to handle trust formations.
And you can settle an estate in Georgia while avoiding probate.
A quitclaim deed in Georgia is commonly used by people who own rental properties.
Investors will get a loan in their personal names.
Then, they will transfer their personal interests in the real property to their LLC.
When you quitclaim deed property to an LLC, it does not transfer the loan to the LLC.
Note that transferring title into an LLC MAY trigger the due on sale clause.
This means that the lender may require you to pay the remaining balance on the mortgage in full.
You can transfer the title to other business-related property as well.
Some examples would be business equipment or vehicles that you had to get personal loans on to purchase.
It’s important that you follow the quitclaim deed laws.
In the state of Georgia, these are the O.C.G.A. laws.
This makes sure that your quitclaim deed is legitimate.
Our virtual Atlanta attorneys can walk you through these applicable quitclaim deed laws.
So that the clerk of the Superior courts will accept your legal documents.
Some websites mention that if you quitclaim a property…
Then you have to pay a real estate transfer tax.
You only have to pay a real estate transfer tax if you sell the property in the state of Georgia.
You can, but you should not be selling a property via a quitclaim deed.
When you sell a property, you have to pay 0.10% of the sales price ($1 for every $1,000).
For example, let’s say you sell a house for $300,000.
You’ll owe $300 in Georgia real estate transfer taxes.
Let’s say you are just transferring the property to a spouse or family member.
And not selling the property.
You won’t owe these real estate transfer taxes to transfer property.
A quitclaim deed in Georgia needs to be signed by :
Your Georgia quitclaim deed form has to get signed in the presence of a notary.
This is the only way that the Clerk of the Superior Court will accept this legal document.
When you get a quitclaim deed with us, we provide witnesses and notary public for you.
Fill out the form on this page to get your quitclaim deed.
If you want a bulletproof quitclaim deed in Georgia, fill out the form below.
Our Atlanta attorneys are able to provide the most reliable quitclaim deeds in Georgia.
We know the ins and outs and little nuances that can cause you trouble per the O.C.G.A.
This allows you to avoid any mishaps with the ownership of your property.
Talk soon.
You want to invest into your future. Whether that’s protecting yourself with a prenup, getting a fresh start with divorce, or setting up your estate. You deserve reliable attorneys who get results. Fill out the form above for your FREE consultation.
This website is for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Consult an attorney if you are seeking legal advice.
