Kansas Warranty Deed Form

What Is a Kansas Warranty Deed Form?

A property owner transfers an interest in Kansas real estate by signing a deed.¹ A Kansas warranty deed transfers real estate with warranty of title.² A property owner who signs a warranty deed guarantees that the property’s title is valid and free of liens and other issues affecting the property’s marketability or value.³

How Warranty of Title Works in Kansas

Warranty of title in Kansas consists of five connected promises—or covenants—from the current owner to the new owner.⁴ A Kansas property owner who signs a warranty deed makes the following promises:⁵

1. The current owner holds good title to the property (covenant of seisin).
2. The current owner has the legal right to transfer the property (covenant of right to convey).
3. No third-party claim will disturb the new owner’s possession of the property (covenant of quiet enjoyment).
4. No undisclosed liens, chain-of-title problems, or other title defects affect the property’s title (covenant against encumbrances).
5. The current owner will defend the new owner’s title against lawful third-party claims (covenant of warranty).⁶

How Warranty of Title Protects the New Owner

A Kansas warranty deed creates a contract under which the current owner agrees to cover any financial loss caused by title defects.⁷ Title defects are issues that reduce the marketability or value of a property’s title. They can include⁸

• outstanding liens or mortgages;
• an uncertain ownership history (chain of title);
• boundary disputes; and
• conditions restricting the new owner’s access to the property.

A new owner who receives real estate under a warranty deed can sue the prior owner for damages if an undisclosed title defect reduces the value of the property’s title.⁹

Example: Peter signs a warranty deed transferring real estate to Gary. Gary later has to pay a third party to remove a lien affecting the property’s title. The lien existed on the date of the warranty deed but was unknown to Gary and was not disclosed by Peter. Gary can sue Peter for breach of warranty to recover the cost of clearing the lien.

What Are Other Names for a Kansas Warranty Deed Form?

Kansas courts and statutes use the term warranty deed for a deed that transfers real estate with complete warranty of title.¹⁰ Kansas courts also occasionally use the longer name general warranty deed—which means the same thing but sets it apart from less-complete limited warranty deeds.¹¹

Statutory warranty deed is used in some states to describe a warranty deed based on language suggested in an authorizing statute.¹² Kansas has an authorizing statute with a model granting clause for warranty deeds, but statutory warranty deed is not a common term in Kansas.

How Do Kansas Warranty Deed Forms Relate to Other Forms of Deeds?

A Kansas warranty deed is a deed form that says the current owner bears the financial risk of title defects existing on the date of the deed.¹³ The new owner can file a breach-of-warranty lawsuit against the current owner to get payment for losses that result from a problem with the property’s title.¹⁴ The warranty covers defects rooted at any point in the property’s entire chain of title.

Two other deed forms recognized in Kansas—limited warranty deeds and quitclaim deeds—also transfer real estate but assign risk differently between the parties.

Kansas Warranty Deed Form vs. Kansas Limited Warranty Deed Form

A Kansas limited warranty deed form—also called a special warranty deed—transfers real estate with a warranty limited to the current owner’s ownership period. A limited warranty deed’s warranty is similar to a warranty deed’s but does not cover title problems that arose before the current owner took title.

A limited warranty deed splits the financial risk of title problems between the current owner and the new owner. The current owner assumes the risk for events that occurred during the current owner’s ownership period. The new owner bears the risk for events that occurred earlier in the property’s chain of title.

Kansas has no authorizing law for limited warranty deeds. These deeds are based on common law and the parties’ right to set the terms of the transfer. A Kansas limited warranty deed should therefore define and limit the scope of the deed’s warranty in its language.¹⁵

Kansas Warranty Deed Form vs. Kansas Quitclaim Deed

A Kansas quitclaim deed form transfers real estate with no warranty—placing all risk of title problems on the new owner.¹⁶ The word quitclaim—as used in Kansas—can be a verb meaning to transfer real estate with no warranty of title. Kansas law assumes a deed is a quitclaim deed if the deed language states that the current owner quitclaims the real estate to the new owner.¹⁷ Kansas quitclaim deed forms are not typically used for transfers made in exchange for a large payment.

Kansas Warranty Deeds and Other Kansas Deed Forms

Kansas honors a few other more specialized deed forms with names based on how the deed works or when it is used rather based on its warranty of title.

A Kansas transfer-on-death deed form is a popular estate-planning tool that is also called a TOD deed. It lets a property owner name a beneficiary to take title outside probate when the owner dies.¹⁸ The owner keeps ownership and the right to transfer the property while living.¹⁹

On the other hand, a Kansas life estate deed works like a TOD deed but limits the owner’s property rights during life.²⁰ A life estate deed can also be a warranty deed if it clearly provides warranty of title. A TOD deed does not involve warranty of title.²¹

What Are Common Uses of Kansas Warranty Deed Forms?

The most common case in which a Kansas real estate deal uses a warranty deed is when the new owner buys the property for fair market value in an arms-length transaction. Homebuyers need the security of a guaranteed title free from defects. Mortgage lenders often insist on a warranty deed backed by title insurance before they offer a loan.

Title insurance—which provides protection against financial loss resulting from title defects—can protect all three parties in a financed real estate purchase.²² The buyer avoids the risk of high debt for a title that ends up being worthless. The seller shifts the long-term financial risk to the insurance company. The lender is protected if the security for the loan fails.

Kansas warranty deeds do not typically record the transfer of properties for little or no payment. For example, they are not used when an owner gives real estate to a family member or records a deed solely to change how real estate is titled. A quitclaim deed is usually the better deed form in those cases.

How Can You Create a Kansas Warranty Deed?

Kansas Warranty Deed Requirements

The Kansas statute authorizing warranty deeds includes a key phrase for creating a warranty deed. A Kansas deed is a warranty deed if it states that the current owner conveys and warrants to the new owner the described real estate for the sum of [the amount of payment].²³ A deed with this key phrase transfers real estate with the five implied covenants of warranty for Kansas warranty deeds.²⁴

Kansas General Deed Requirements

The key phrase alone is not enough to create a deed that transfers Kansas real estate legally. A warranty deed must also meet Kansas’s other requirements for a valid deed.

A Kansas warranty deed must be correctly formatted and must include all information required in all Kansas deeds—such as a legal description of the property and indexing information.²⁵ The current owner—and sometimes the current owner’s spouse—must sign a warranty deed and confirm it before a notary.²⁶ If the property is co-owned, both owners must sign unless the deed transfers only one owner’s rights.

A Kansas warranty deed must also accurately state the specific terms of transfer agreed on by the parties. Kansas law assumes that a warranty deed transfers the current owner’s complete interest in the property—though a deed may clearly state that it transfers a lesser interest.²⁷ The parties to a warranty deed may also limit the warranty’s scope. For example, they may clearly exclude certain conditions from the warranty.²⁸

Selecting a Kansas Warranty Deed Form

Legal requirements for deeds are state-specific and can vary greatly from one state to another. A warranty deed form used to transfer Kansas real estate must be tailored to follow Kansas law and achieve the parties’ intended result. A warranty deed form created for use in another state may not work for recording a deed in Kansas. Using the wrong deed form can lead to future chain-of-title problems, a lawsuit, or transfer terms that one or more parties did not want.

1. Kan. Stat. § 58-2205.
2. Kan. Stat. § 58-2203.
3. See Lewis v. Jetz Service Co., 9 P.3d 1268, 1270 (Kan. Ct. App. 2000), quoting 14 Powell on Real Property, § 81A.06(2)(d)(i) (1999).
4. Kan. Stat. § 58-2203.
5. See Griffith v. Byers Construction Co., 510 P.2d 198 (Kan. 1973).
6. Kan. Stat. § 58-2203.
7. See Lewis v. Jetz Service Co., 9 P.3d 1268, 1270 (Kan. Ct. App. 2000), quoting 14 Powell on Real Property, § 81A.06(2)(d)(i) (1999).
8. See Kan. Stat. § 40-1136(g).
9. See Kitchen v. Schmedeman, Kan. Ct. App. No. 88,700 (June 27, 2003).
10. See, e.g., Kan. Stat. § 58-2203; Griffith v. Byers Construction Co., 510 P.2d 198 (Kan. 1973).
11. See, e.g., Kirkpatrick v. Ault, 280 P.2d. 637 (Kan. 1955).
12. See, e.g., Chaney v. Haeder, 752 P.2d 854 (Or. Ct. App., 1988).
13. Wilder v. Wilhite, 376 P.2d. 797 (Kan. 1962).
14. See Lewis v. Jetz Service Co., 9 P.3d 1268, 1270 (Kan. Ct. App. 2000).
15. See Rama Operating Co. v. Barker, 47 Kan. App. 2d 1020, (Kan. Ct. App. 2012).
16. Kan. Stat. § 58-2204.
17. Kan. Stat. § 58-2204.
18. Kan. Stat. § 59-3504(a); Kan. Stat. § 59-3507.
19. Kan. Stat. § 59-3506; Kan. Stat. § 59-3504(b).
20. Kan. Stat. § 58-503.
21. Kan. Stat. § 59-3504(b).
22. Kan. Stat. § 40-1136(g).
23. Kan. Stat. § 58-2203.
24. Griffith v. Byers Construction Co., 510 P.2d 198 (Kan. 1973) .
25. See, e.g., Kan. Stat. § 28-115; Kan. Stat § 58-2209.
26. Kan. Stat. § 58-2205; Kan. Stat. § 58-2209; Kan. Stat. § 58-2211; Kan. Const., Art. 15, Sec. 9.
27. Kan. Stat. § 58-2202.
28. See Rama Operating Co. v. Barker, 47 Kan. App. 2d 1020, (Kan. Ct. App. 2012).