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Deeds

On Behalf of | Feb 15, 2021 | Real Estate Law |

A deed is a document conveying an interest in real estate from one person to another. A deed is effective once signed and delivered, but in order to cut off liability from the grantor (the person selling or giving the property) and protect the interests of the grantee (the person buying or receiving the property), a deed should be recorded with the appropriate county office. In Indiana, the Recorder’s Office records deeds, and in Kentucky, the County Clerk’s Office records deeds. An unrecorded deed can cause legal problems for the buyer and seller.

Although many deed forms are available online, they don’t always come with any guarantee that they have been prepared by an attorney, or that the attorney is up to date on real estate documentation legal requirements, which can and do change over time. Further, an online deed form rarely comes with recording assistance, or direction on supporting documents that in some cases must be filed in addition to the deed, in order for the deed to be accepted by the county for recording. Deeds are also not one-size-fits-all. A quit claim deed, for example, conveys all of the interest a person has in a property, but comes with no assurance that the grantor owns any interest in the property to begin with. A warranty deed, on the other hand, is intended to convey good title and may not be appropriate for a situation in which title is being conveyed subject to a mortgage.

An attorney can also provide direction in helping you identify the correct grantee and method of holding title. By using the right words, you can convey property to a husband and wife as one legal unit, or to two individuals each with the right to convey their interest in the property to a third party independent of one another.