Oregon Quitclaim Deed Form

What is an Oregon Quitclaim Deed Form?

An Oregon quitclaim deed form is a written instrument that conveys a property owner’s current interest in Oregon real estate. When executing an Oregon quitclaim deed, the current owner (grantor) transfers ownership to a new owner (grantee) with no warranty of title.¹

A warranty of title is the current owner’s legally enforceable promise that title to the transferred real estate is free from title defects. Potential title defects could include liens, mortgages, an unclear or defective chain of title, or an adverse claim against the property.² Because an Oregon quitclaim deed provides no warranty of title, the current owner makes no representations about title defects.

A quitclaim deed’s lack of warranty does not necessarily mean the current owner doubts the property’s title is clear.³ It means that the new owner bears the risk of loss if a title defect emerges.

Unless a lesser interest is specified, an Oregon quitclaim deed conveys the current owner’s entire interest in the real estate as of the date of the deed.⁴ An Oregon quitclaim deed does not transfer an interest that vests in the current owner after the date of the deed.⁵

Other Names for an Oregon Quitclaim Deed Form

Oregon statutes use the term quitclaim deed to describe a deed that transfers an owner’s current interest in real estate with no warranty of title.⁶ Quitclaim can also be a verb—as in, a property owner quitclaims an interest in real estate to a new owner.⁷ Quit claim deed is an acceptable spelling, though less commonly used in Oregon. Quickclaim deed is not an actual legal term.

Quitclaim deeds are sometimes called release deeds—especially when a part-owner is releasing an ownership interest in favor of another owner.⁸ Oregon courts favor the term quitclaim deed, and release deed is relatively uncommon in Oregon.⁹

In states where title insurance companies are wary of quitclaim deeds, a property owner can use a no warranty deed or deed without warranty to serve the same practical function as a quitclaim deed.¹⁰

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

Under Oregon law, the defining characteristics of a quitclaim deed are that it:

1. Transfers an owner’s interest in real estate with no warranty of title; and
2. Transfers whatever interest the owner holds when executing the deed but not any after-acquired title—or interests the owner obtains after signing the deed.¹¹

Oregon recognizes by statute three other deed forms, each of which conveys after-acquired title and provides varying degrees of warranty of title.¹²

• Warranty Deeds. An Oregon warranty deed form transfers real estate with complete warranty of title.¹³ The current owner guarantees the property’s title is free of defects arising anytime throughout the property’s chain of title, and the current owner promises to defend the property’s title against any future claims.¹⁴ Warranty deeds are also known as general warranty deeds.
• Special Warranty Deeds. An Oregon special warranty deed form transfers real estate with the same guaranty as an Oregon warranty deed, but the warranty only covers defects created while the current owner owned the real estate.¹⁵ A title defect that arose earlier in the property’s chain of title is outside the warranty. Special warranty deeds are sometimes called limited warranty deeds, covenant deeds, or grant deeds.
• Bargain and Sale Deeds. An Oregon bargain and sale deed form—like a quitclaim deed—transfers real estate with no warranty of title.¹⁶ Unlike a quitclaim deed, an Oregon bargain and sale deed conveys to the new owner any interests in the real estate vesting in the former owner after execution of the deed.¹⁷

Quitclaim deeds are the only Oregon deed form that does not transfer the current owner’s after-acquired title.¹⁸ That distinction can be important in cases involving mineral rights, water rights, or when a transfer involves incomplete interests that can be conveyed separately—such as life estates.¹⁹

Oregon law recognizes a few other types of deeds defined by the deed’s purpose rather than the warranty of title involved. For example, transfer on death deeds—also called TOD deeds or beneficiary deeds—transfer real estate effective upon the current owner’s death.²⁰ An Oregon TOD deed does not affect the owner’s rights in the property while the owner remains living and provides no warranty of title when the transfer takes effect.²¹

Title Insurance and Oregon Quitclaim Deeds

Because a quitclaim deed places the risk of title defects on the new owner, a person receiving real estate through a quitclaim deed may wish to purchase title insurance. Title insurance protects a property owner—or another person with an interest in the property—against financial loss arising from title defects.²²

Common Uses of Oregon Quitclaim Deed Forms

Oregon quitclaim deed forms are not common in transactions involving an arms-length real estate transfer for fair market value. Purchasers do not want the risk of paying good money (consideration) for a defective title. Instead, quitclaim deeds are more suitable when little or no money is changing hands or when real estate is retitled but effective control of the property is unchanged.

An Oregon quitclaim deed form might be appropriate in the following circumstances:

• An individual real estate owner quitclaims the property to the owner and the owner’s spouse jointly as husband and wife—allowing the couple to co-own the real estate as tenants by the entirety with a right of survivorship.²³
• An individual real estate owner quitclaims real estate to a business entity owned or controlled by the current owner.²⁴
• An individual owner quitclaims real estate to a living trust for the benefit of the owner or the owner’s family.
• Married spouses quitclaim jointly-owned real estate as a gift to one or more children as part of the spouses’ estate plan.
• A personal representative of a deceased owner’s estate quitclaims real estate to an assignee of the estate.²⁵
• One spouse quitclaims that spouse’s interest in jointly owned real estate to the other spouse in connection with a divorce.

This list is not exhaustive, and Oregon quitclaim deeds are often used in a variety of other situations where the new owner is not paying for the property.

How to Create an Oregon Quitclaim Deed

Oregon provides the following model statutory language for creating quitclaim deeds:

[Current Owner’s Name], Grantor, releases and quitclaims to [New Owner’s Name], Grantee, all right, title and interest in and to the following described real property: (Describe the property conveyed.)

(Following description of property, here insert statement required under O.R.S. § 93.040).

The true consideration for this conveyance is $_____.²⁶

Oregon’s statutory deed forms are optional.²⁷ If a deed uses the model language, it is considered a quitclaim deed.

The model quitclaim deed language references a statement required by O.R.S. § 93.040. An Oregon quitclaim deed should include an exact recitation of the mandatory statement—rather than only a reference to the code section.

Oregon’s model quitclaim language also states, “the true consideration for this conveyance is $______.” Under Oregon law, a deed must include the “true and actual consideration paid for the transfer.”²⁸ While failure to identify consideration does not render a conveyance invalid, Oregon law instructs county clerks to reject deeds that do not include the required statement.²⁹

A statement of nominal consideration is insufficient, but quitclaim deeds are often used in transfers involving little or no cash payment. When consideration consists of non-monetary value, an Oregon deed can state that “other property or value was either part or the whole consideration.”³⁰ In that scenario, the deed need not specifically describe the value provided.

By default, an Oregon quitclaim deed conveys the current owner’s entire interest in the property and includes no warranties or covenants.³¹ The parties to a deed can transfer a lesser interest or include covenants within a deed by incorporating clear language expressly setting forth the desired terms.³²

Oregon’s statutory quitclaim deed form provides satisfactory vesting language but does not, by itself, create an effective, recordable Oregon deed. Oregon law includes numerous formatting and content requirements not addressed by the form language.³³ An Oregon quitclaim deed—or any other deed form—must be carefully prepared to ensure it complies with state law and precisely recounts the transaction’s terms.

1. O.R.S. § 93.865.
2. See O.R.S. § 731.190.
3. See United States v. California & Oregon Land Co., 49 F. 496, 504 (9th Cir. 1892).
4. O.R.S. § 93.865(2).
5. O.R.S. § 93.865(2).
6. O.R.S. § 93.865.
7. O.R.S. § 93.865(1).
8. See, e.g., Henningsen v. Stromberg, 221 P.2d 438 (Mont. 1950).
9. See, e.g., City of North Bend v. County of Coos, 485 P.2d 1226 (Or. Sup. Ct., 1971).
10. See, e.g., Tex. Prop. Code § 5.023 (deeds include implied warranties “unless the conveyance expressly provides otherwise”).
11. O.R.S. § 93.865(2).
12. See O.R.S. § 93.850(2); O.R.S. § 93.855(2); O.R.S. § 93.860(2).
13. O.R.S. § 93.850.
14. O.R.S. § 93.850(2).
15. O.R.S. § 93.855(2).
16. O.R.S. § 93.860.
17. O.R.S. § 93.860(2)(b).
18. O.R.S. § 93.865(2).
19. See, e.g., Muzzy v. OPM, LLC, No. 092042; A146219 (Or. Ct. App., May 31, 2012); see also O.R.S. § 93.150.
20. O.R.S. § 93.953.
21. O.R.S. § 93.967(1) and (5); O.R.S. § 93.969(4).
22. O.R.S. § 731.190.
23. O.R.S. § 93.180(1)(b); O.R.S. § 93.280(1) (authorizing property owner to execute deed naming owner and another person as grantees).
24. See, e.g., O.R.S. § 93.210.
25. See O.R.S. § 114.325(1).
26. O.R.S. § 93.865(1).
27. See O.R.S. § 93.870.
28. O.R.S. § 93.030(2).
29. O.R.S. § 93.030(3) and (5).
30. O.R.S. § 93.030(2).
31. O.R.S. § 93.120; O.R.S. § 93.140; O.R.S. § 93.865.
32. O.R.S. § 93.120; O.R.S. § 93.865.
33. See, e.g., O.R.S. § 205.232; O.R.S. § 205.234; O.R.S. § 93.010.