Background

• Any time a name is added or removed from the title of a property a deed of some type is needed, be it a Grant Deed, a Quitclaim Deed, or an Interspousal Deed. A deed is a legal document that transfers title of a property from one person, business, or other entity to another.
  
  

Types of Deeds

• There are many types of deeds. A Quitclaim Deed or Grant Deed is usually used when transferring title on a property as part of a real-estate transaction, such as a sale.
  
  

Interspousal Grant Deed

• An Interspousal Grant Deed is a specific type of deed used to transfer title between two married people. This is often used in transactions in which one spouse is transferring title to another as part of a divorce settlement, when a husband or wife wants to add his or her spouse to a title, or when one spouse needs to be taken off a property's title for legal or financial reasons. For example, if one spouse has poor credit, he or she may need to be removed from title in order to process a refinance.
  
  

Why Use an Interspousal Deed?

• When title is transferred, transfer tax is assessed by the county and a property may even be reassessed, which can result in higher property taxes. An Interspousal Grant Deed is exempt from transfer tax and does not trigger a reassessment; two solid reasons to use an Interspousal Deed versus another type of transfer deed, which may incur these charges.
  
  

Warnings

• It is important to execute any legal document correctly in order to establish its validity. In the case of an Interspousal Grant Deed, the document should be in writing, it should properly identify all parties according to how they currently hold title, the property in question should be clearly identified, the document should be signed in front of a notary public, and it should be recorded after execution in the County Recorder's office.
  
  

Tips

• Many online sites, including the websites for most title companies, offer free fill-in-the-blank deed forms. In addition, most title and escrow companies can execute and record deeds through any of their offices for a small fee.