Nevada Quitclaim Deed Form

What is a Nevada Quitclaim Deed Form?

A Nevada property owner transfers an interest in real estate by signing and recording a written deed.¹ A Nevada quitclaim deed is a form of deed that functions essentially like a release. It transfers any title, interest, or claim the person signing the deed holds in the real estate with no promises regarding the quality of the transferred interest.²

The defining characteristic of Nevada quitclaim deeds is that they contain no warranties or covenants of title.³ Warranty of title or covenants of title refer to a property owner’s guaranty when signing a deed that the deed conveys good, clear title to the real estate.⁴ Because a quitclaim deed offers no covenants of title, the new owner receives the real estate as-is and assumes all risk of unknown problems with the title. Title problems—or defects—might arise from errors or omissions in prior deeds affecting the property, a conflicting or incomplete chain of title, or an outstanding tax or judgment lien.⁵

A new owner who accepts a deed with covenants of title can sue the former owner if the deed transfers an invalid title or an undisclosed defect emerges.⁶ A new owner who receives title through a quitclaim deed has no recourse against the prior owner for breach of the deed’s warranty or covenants.

Other Names for a Nevada Quitclaim Deed Form

Nevada statutes call deeds transferring real estate with no covenants of title quitclaim deeds.⁷ Nevada courts also use quitclaim deed sometimes shortened to just quitclaim.⁸ The word quitclaim can be a noun (referring to a quitclaim deed) or a verb (referring to the action of transferring real estate without warranty of title).⁹

Nevada’s Administrative Code notes that a quitclaim deed operates like a release.¹⁰ Release deed is sometimes used as a synonym for quitclaim deed for that reason.¹¹ The term release deed is uncommon in Nevada—though Nevada quitclaim deeds often state that the current owner quitclaims and releases the real estate to the new owner.

Title insurance companies in some jurisdictions—most notably, Texas—are distrustful of quitclaim deeds. Property owners in states where quitclaim deeds are disfavored sometimes use no warranty deeds or deeds without warranty to convey real estate with no warranty or covenants of title.¹² Nevada title companies routinely insure title passed by quitclaim deed, so there is no need for a special deed form in Nevada.

How do Nevada Quitclaim Deed Forms Relate to Other Forms of Deeds?

A Nevada quitclaim deed offers the new owner no assurance regarding the quality of the real estate interest conveyed by the deed. A quitclaim deed transfers any interest or claim the signer has—if any—with no warranty.¹³ A property owner transferring Nevada real estate can use a grant, bargain, and sale deed or warranty deed to give the new owner at least some guaranty that the transferred interest is valid.

• Nevada Grant, Bargain, and Sale Deed. A Nevada grant, bargain, and sale deed—the state’s most commonly used deed form—provides two covenants of title.¹⁴ The current owner promises that no title defects arose while the owner held title and that the owner did not already transfer the real estate to anyone else.¹⁵ The term grant, bargain, and sale deed is specific to Nevada. Other jurisdictions call deeds that function similarly special warranty deeds, limited warranty deeds, grant deeds, or covenant deeds.
• Warranty Deeds. A Nevada warranty deed—sometimes called general warranty deed—gives the new owner a complete guaranty that the deed transfers good, clear title to real estate.¹⁶ The current owner guarantees the title is valid and free of all undisclosed defects—regardless of when a defect arose. Warranty deeds—while recognized under Nevada law—are used relatively infrequently compared to other states.¹⁷ Nevada does not have a short-form warranty deed statute, and a warranty deed’s covenants therefore must be expressly included within the deed.¹⁸

Quitclaim deeds place the risk of title defects entirely on the new owner. Warranty deeds and grant-bargain-and-sale deeds keep some or all of the risk with the current owner. Either party to a deed—or a lender financing a purchase—can alleviate the financial risk of defects by purchasing a title insurance policy. A title insurance company accepts a one-time premium at closing and—in return—contractually agrees to assume the financial risk of unknown title defects.¹⁹

Quitclaim Deeds and Other Nevada Deeds Used in Estate Planning

Quitclaim deeds are useful for re-titling real estate or transferring it to a new owner upon execution and recording.²⁰ Nevada law recognizes other deed forms with more specialized functions. Nevada deeds upon death and Nevada life estate deeds serve as tools for estate planning—letting real estate owners arrange for non-probate transfer of real estate effective when the owner dies.²¹

A property owner who records a deed upon death—also called transfer on death deed or TOD deed—retains unrestricted ownership of the property during life.²² Title transfers to a beneficiary named in the deed upon the owner’s death.

Life estate deeds work similarly—creating an ownership interest that endures until the holder’s death and a remainder interest effective after that.²³ The limitation of life estate deeds compared to TOD deeds is that a life estate holder’s right to sell, transfer, or mortgage the property is limited by the remainder interest.

Common Uses of Nevada Quitclaim Deed Forms

Property owners often use quitclaim deeds to transfer Nevada real estate when the new owner provides nominal or no consideration for the transfer. An owner gifting real estate to a close family member—for instance—is unlikely to offer covenants of title. A recipient of gifted Nevada real estate is similarly unlikely to insist on a guaranty of the property’s title.

Nevada quitclaim deeds are also a convenient means of re-titling real estate without affecting physical possession of the property. Nevada law expressly authorizes property owners to convey real estate to the current owner and another person jointly.²⁴ Nevada law contemplates numerous transactions in which an owner executes a quitclaim deed re-titling real estate that the owner will continue effectively controlling.²⁵

A property owner might use a Nevada quitclaim deed form for any of the following conveyances:

• A conveyance of a Nevada homestead from the current owner to the owner and the owner’s spouse as joint tenants or as community property with right of survivorship so that complete title vests in the surviving spouse upon the other spouse’s death;²⁶
• A conveyance of Nevada real estate to a corporation or LLC which the property owner owns;²⁷
• A conveyance of Nevada real estate to a revocable trust or from a revocable trust to the trust’s settlor;²⁸
• A conveyance of Nevada real estate from a deceased person’s estate to an estate beneficiary;²⁹
• A conveyance of Nevada real estate to the owner’s former spouse under a divorce³⁰

How to Create a Nevada Quitclaim Deed

Nevada does not publish a statutory deed form for quitclaim deeds. A Nevada quitclaim deed must include language distinguishing it from other deed forms. It is of particular importance that a quitclaim deed does not reference warranty or covenants of title provided by the person executing the deed.

Nevada quitclaim deeds frequently indicate that the signer quitclaims and releases the real estate to the new owner.³¹ By comparison, grant-bargain-and-sale deeds must state that the current owner grants, bargains, and sells the property.³² Nevada warranty deeds typically state that the current owner grants the real estate and warrants the title.

Quitclaim deeds are often relatively simple documents but must still satisfy all Nevada requirements for valid deeds. Nevada has precise formatting standards governing margin and font size, paper quality, and ink—among other things.³³

Nevada law requires that deeds include certain information to be recordable and validly transfer ownership of real estate. Names and addresses, a legal description and parcel number for the property, and the current owner’s notarized signature all must appear within a quitclaim deed or other Nevada deed.³⁴

Every states’ real estate laws are a little different. A Nevada quitclaim deed form must conform to Nevada law and include all information and terms necessary for a valid transfer with no warranty of title. A deed drafted for a different state may be unrecordable in Nevada or result in an ineffective conveyance.

1. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.105.
2. Nev. Admin. Code § 375.100.
3. Nev. Admin. Code § 375.100.
4. See Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.170.
5. See Nev. Rev. Stat. § 681A.080.
6. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.170(2).
7. See Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.312(3)(b).
8. See, e.g., Tolboe v. Pelccoe, 335 P.2d 77 (Nev. 1959).
9. See, e.g., Roy v. Lancaster, 814 P.2d 75 (Nev. 1991).
10. Nev. Admin. Code § 375.100.
11. See, e.g., Henningsen v. Stromberg, 221 P.2d 438 (Mont. 1950).
12. See, e.g., Tex. Prop. Code § 5.023 (Texas law assumes a deed contains specified warranties “unless the conveyance expressly provides otherwise”).
13. See Nev. Admin. Code § 375.100.
14. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.170.
15. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.170(1)(a) and (b).
16. See Thomas v. Palmer, 248 P. 887 (Nev. 1926).
17. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.312(3)(c).
18. See Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.100; see also Thomas v. Palmer, 248 P. 887 (Nev. 1926).
19. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 681A.080; see also Nev. Div. of Insurance, Consumer’s Guide to Title Insurance.
20. See, e.g., Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.064; Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.065.
21. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.671; Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.365(2).
22. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.677(1).
23. Nev. Admin. Code § 375.090.
24. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.064.
25. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 375.090.
26. See Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.064; Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.065; Nev. Rev. Stat. § 115.060(1).
27. See Nev. Rev. Stat. § 78.070; Nev. Rev. Stat. § 86.281(3).
28. See Nev. Rev. Stat. § 163.270; Nev. Rev. Stat. § 163.008; Nev. Rev. Stat. § 375.090(7).
29. See Nev. Rev. Stat. § 143.405.
30. See Nev. Rev. Stat. § 375.090(6).
31. See Nev. Admin. Code § 375.100.
32. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.170(1).
33. See Nev. Rev. Stat. § 247.110(3).
34. See Nev. Rev. Stat. § 247.150; Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.312.