A quitclaim deed in New Jersey transfers the signer’s interest in real estate without promising that the property is free and clear of mortgages, liens, or other people’s claims of ownership. Its defining feature is that it contains no promises or warranties of clear title.
Other deeds may contain title warranties, but those promises do not themselves clear liens either. They may give the recipient legal rights against the signer if a covered promise is broken. Resolving the underlying lien or claim is a separate matter.
What Is a Quitclaim Deed in New Jersey?
A quitclaim deed transfers whatever interest the signer has in a property without promising that the ownership is free and clear of mortgages, liens, or other people’s claims. The person transferring the interest is the grantor; the person receiving it is the grantee.
To understand that distinction, it helps to understand what title means. Title refers to legal ownership rights in real estate. A person can own property while another person or organization has a legally enforceable claim affecting that property.
For example, a homeowner may own a house while a bank holds a mortgage securing an unpaid loan. A municipality may have a lien for unpaid property taxes. A judgment creditor may have a lien affecting the property. A lawsuit may involve a claim that someone else has an ownership interest or another right affecting the real estate.
Those claims do not necessarily mean the owner has no title. They mean the owner’s title may be subject to rights or claims held by others.
This is where a quitclaim deed differs from a deed containing title warranties. With a quitclaim deed, the grantor transfers the interest the grantor has but does not promise the grantee that mortgages, liens, ownership claims, or other title issues do not exist.
That does not mean every property transferred by quitclaim has title problems. The point is that the grantor is not making promises about whether those problems exist.
Under N.J.S.A. 46:5-3, a quitclaim deed can convey the same estate the grantor could lawfully transfer by a bargain-and-sale deed. The New Jersey Supreme Court recognized the same principle in Palamarg Realty Co. v. Rehac, 80 N.J. 446 (1979).
In practical terms, a quitclaim deed can transfer full ownership if the grantor owns the entire property and transfers the entire interest. If the grantor owns only a partial interest, the deed transfers only that interest. If the grantor does not own an interest at all, the deed cannot create ownership that the grantor did not have.
The important distinction is therefore not necessarily how much ownership a quitclaim deed can transfer. The distinction is what promises accompany the transfer.
Other deeds may include specific promises, known as title covenants. For example, New Jersey recognizes covenants concerning quiet possession and freedom from encumbrances under N.J.S.A. 46:4-5. A bargain-and-sale deed may also contain a covenant against grantor’s acts, which generally concerns actions taken or knowingly permitted by the grantor that affected the property.
Those promises can matter if a title problem later appears. If the deed contains an applicable covenant and the promise was breached, the grantee may have rights against the grantor.
But the covenant itself does not eliminate a mortgage, judgment, tax lien, or other claim. For example, if a deed promises that property is free of an encumbrance when a lien actually exists, that may create a claim between the grantor and grantee. It does not automatically extinguish the creditor’s lien.
A quitclaim deed generally does not provide those title-warranty protections. The recipient accepts the grantor’s interest without those assurances.
What Does the Language in a Quitclaim Deed Mean?
Quitclaim language means the grantor gives up and transfers the interest described in the deed without making title warranties. New Jersey statutes specifically recognize traditional phrases such as “remise, release and forever quitclaim.”
An illustrative transfer clause might read:
Grantor does remise, release, and forever quitclaim to Grantee all right, title, and interest of Grantor in and to the described real property.
This is only an illustration of the operative language. It is not a complete deed or a form ready for recording.
N.J.S.A. 46:5-1 recognizes phrases including “remise, release and forever quitclaim” and “grant and release” as words of conveyance unless the deed expresses a contrary intention.
The important parts of the language have practical meanings:
- Grantor and grantee: The grantor is transferring the interest. The grantee is receiving it.
- Remise, release and forever quitclaim: These words give up and transfer the grantor’s interest. They do not mean a lender or creditor has released a separate claim against the property.
- All right, title and interest: The grantor is transferring the ownership rights the grantor actually has. The language does not promise that those rights are unaffected by mortgages, liens, lawsuits, or competing claims.
- Described real property: The deed must identify the particular property involved in the transfer.
The word “release” can cause confusion. In this context, the grantor is releasing the grantor’s interest to the grantee. That is different from a mortgage lender releasing its mortgage or another creditor discharging a lien.
That distinction applies regardless of the deed form. An owner generally cannot eliminate a creditor’s lien simply by transferring the property through a different deed.
For example, if a mortgage remains unpaid, changing ownership through a deed does not itself satisfy the mortgage. Likewise, if property taxes remain unpaid, the owner’s transfer does not by itself eliminate the municipality’s lien.
A grantor can, however, use a quitclaim deed to release the grantor’s own possible claim to property. That is one reason quitclaim deeds can be useful when a title search identifies someone who might still have an ownership interest.
The remainder of the deed also matters. A grantor who intends to retain a particular interest should address that expressly. N.J.S.A. 46:5-4 recognizes specifically reserved interests in a quitclaim conveyance.
The completed deed must also satisfy New Jersey recording requirements. N.J.S.A. 46:26A-3 addresses requirements including signatures, acknowledgment or proof, printed names beneath signatures, tax-parcel information, the preparer’s name, and the grantee’s mailing address.
Signing and recording are also different concepts. New Jersey courts recognize that execution, delivery with the intent to make a present transfer, and acceptance are central to completing a deed transfer. Recording provides public notice and helps protect against later competing interests, but it does not determine whether mortgages, liens, or other existing claims have been resolved.
Why and When Are Quitclaim Deeds Used?
Quitclaim deeds are commonly used when the parties want to transfer or release an interest without the grantor giving title warranties. The usefulness of the deed therefore depends on the purpose of the transaction and what the parties expect the grantor to promise.
Transfers Involving Existing Claims or Uncertain Interests
One situation is a transfer in which the parties know that a claim affecting the property will remain after closing.
Suppose, for example, that a property has $15,000 in unpaid property taxes. The buyer agrees to acquire the seller’s ownership interest while the tax lien remains outstanding.
A quitclaim deed may fit the parties’ agreement if the seller transfers the seller’s interest without promising the property is free of the lien.
The tax lien remains because it has not been paid or otherwise legally discharged—not because the parties used a quitclaim deed. A warranty deed would not, by itself, remove the municipality’s lien.
New Jersey law makes unpaid property taxes a continuing lien on the land. See N.J.S.A. 54:5-6.
The deed form changes the promise between the parties. If a seller gives an applicable covenant promising that the property is free of encumbrances and an undisclosed lien exists, the buyer may have a claim against the seller. The covenant does not itself make the lien disappear.
The same distinction applies to mortgages. A deed transfers the owner’s interest; it does not itself satisfy the mortgage loan or cancel the lender’s security interest.
An ownership transfer can also raise due-on-sale issues. Federal law generally permits lenders to enforce due-on-sale provisions, subject to specified exceptions for certain residential transfers. Those exceptions include certain transfers involving a borrower’s spouse or children and certain transfers connected with divorce. See 12 U.S.C. § 1701j-3.
Another common use involves a disputed or uncertain ownership claim.
Suppose a title search identifies a person who may still have an interest because of an earlier deed, inheritance, or other event in the property’s history. The parties may resolve that issue by having the claimant quitclaim whatever interest they have to the current owner.
That use fits the nature of the document. The claimant can release the claimant’s own possible interest without promising that every other aspect of the property’s title is valid or free of claims.
The quitclaim addresses that person’s interest. It does not automatically resolve unrelated claims held by someone else.
Family Transfers and Divorce-Related Transfers
People also commonly use quitclaim deeds when rearranging ownership within a family.
For example, a parent may transfer an interest in a property to an adult child. A quitclaim can transfer the parent’s interest without warranties of title.
The deed should clearly state what the parent is transferring. If the parent intends to keep an ownership share or another right in the property, that retained interest should be addressed expressly rather than assumed.
Existing mortgages also require separate attention. A family transfer does not automatically cancel a mortgage simply because ownership changes. Federal law may prevent enforcement of a due-on-sale clause for certain qualifying transfers, including some transfers in which a borrower’s spouse or child becomes an owner, but that is different from satisfying the mortgage debt.
Divorce is another common situation.
One spouse may transfer an ownership interest to the spouse who will keep the marital home. A quitclaim deed may be appropriate when the purpose is to transfer that spouse’s interest without providing title warranties.
The deed, however, addresses ownership—not necessarily responsibility for the mortgage loan.
A spouse who signed the loan can remain responsible for the debt even after transferring away an ownership interest. Refinancing, assumption, or an agreement with the lender may be needed to change personal liability on the mortgage.
There is also an important rule before divorce. When spouses own property as tenants by the entirety, N.J.S.A. 46:3-17.4 generally prevents one spouse from unilaterally severing, transferring, or otherwise affecting the tenancy during marriage or separation without the written consent of both spouses.
Finally, the words “quitclaim deed” do not automatically determine New Jersey Realty Transfer Fee treatment.
New Jersey distinguishes between a true quitclaim releasing a possible outstanding interest and a deed that actually transfers ownership. An actual ownership transfer may still require Realty Transfer Fee analysis even when the document is called a quitclaim deed. The applicable consideration and statutory exemptions must be reviewed for the particular transaction. See the New Jersey Division of Taxation Realty Transfer Fee guidance.
Contact the Law Firm of Earl P. White
Before signing or accepting a quitclaim deed, identify the ownership interest being transferred, the mortgages, liens, lawsuits, or other claims affecting the property, and the title promises—if any—the grantor intends to make.
The Law Firm of Earl P. White, PC assists with New Jersey deed preparation and real estate transfers. Call (201) 627-2457 to discuss a family transfer, divorce-related deed, disputed property interest, outstanding lien, or another proposed change in ownership.