Resources

DEEDS

A deed is a legal document in which a land owner transfers ownership of his or her land.  A warranty deed is the most common type of deed.  With that type of deed the grantor (the person transferring the real estate) guarantees to the grantee (the person to whom the property is being transferred to) that he has good title to the property and will warrant and defend the grantee’s title against all claims.  A quitclaim deed is similar, except that it contains no guarantee of good title.  The effect of it is to convey the grantors interest in the property, if he has any, without any guarantees.  A fiduciary deed is given by an executor of an estate or a trustee of a trust and is similar to a quitclaim deed.

When one inherits real estate, a document is filed to memorialize that event.  In Ohio, that document is known as a certificate of transfer.  It is issued by the probate court to transfer the real estate to the person inheriting it.  In Florida the document is known as a personal representative’s release and certificate of distribution of real property.

If one dies without a will, or if he has a will that is declared invalid, the person is said to die intestate.  A state law, known as the statute of decent and distribution, specifies how the decedent’s property is distributed if there is no will.