The Short Answer
A quitclaim deed transfers whatever interest the signer owns, with no warranties about the title. That makes it fast and cheap for transfers between people who already trust each other, and a poor choice for buying property from a stranger. It is a fine tool for the right job, and a costly one when used as a do-it-yourself estate plan.
When a Quitclaim Deed Is the Right Tool
Reach for a quitclaim when the title history is not in question:
- Divorce: removing an ex-spouse from the home’s title after a settlement.
- Marriage: adding or removing a spouse.
- Funding a trust: moving your home into your own revocable living trust.
- Family clean-up: clearing a co-ownership or fixing a misspelled name on title.
In each of these, everyone already knows the property’s history, so the absence of warranties does not create risk.
What a Quitclaim Deed Does Not Do
- It does not guarantee good title. If the signer’s ownership is defective, you inherit the defect.
- It does not avoid probate unless you give the property away outright now, which causes the problems below.
- It does not remove anyone from the mortgage. Title and the loan are separate; the loan still has to be refinanced or paid off.
The Estate-Planning Trap: "Just Add the Kids"
The most expensive quitclaim mistake is deeding your home to your children to "avoid probate." A gift today backfires four ways:
- Capital-gains tax. Your kids take your old, low basis, not the date-of-death value. On a home that has appreciated, a later sale can owe tens of thousands in tax that a lady bird deed would have erased through the date-of-death step-up. Run the numbers on the gift tax calculator →
- Medicaid penalty. The gift is a transfer for Florida Medicaid. If you need nursing care within five years, it can buy you months of ineligibility.
- Lost control and exposure. You no longer own your home outright; it is now reachable by your children’s creditors, divorces, and lawsuits.
- It may not even avoid probate. Simply "adding" a child to a Florida deed creates a tenancy in common with no right of survivorship unless the deed expressly says so (Fla. Stat. §689.15). Without that language your share still goes through probate at your death, so the move fails the very goal you signed it for.
The goal (no probate) is right. The tool is wrong. A lady bird deed gets you there without giving anything away today. Find the right deed in four questions →
Quitclaim vs. Lady Bird vs. Warranty Deed
| Deed | Good for | Avoids probate? |
|---|---|---|
| Quitclaim | Divorce, spouse, trust funding, family clean-up | No (not by itself) |
| Lady bird (enhanced life estate) | Passing your home to heirs, keeping control | Yes |
| Warranty | Selling to a buyer (full title guarantee) | No |
Requirements and Cost
A valid Florida quitclaim needs the correct grantor and grantee, the full legal description from the prior recorded deed, and words of conveyance. It must be signed before two subscribing witnesses (Fla. Stat. §689.01), which is what makes the deed valid, and acknowledged before a notary so it can be recorded (§695.03). Since January 1, 2024, each witness’s mailing address must also appear on the deed before the clerk will record it (§695.26). On a married person’s homestead, the spouse generally must join. Our flat fee is $399 plus recording and any documentary stamp tax that applies. Watch the doc stamp: a gift with no mortgage owes only the $0.70 minimum, but if there is any consideration (including taking property subject to a mortgage), Florida's documentary stamp tax applies on that amount.
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Book your free consultFrequently Asked Questions
What Is a Quitclaim Deed in Florida?
A quitclaim deed transfers whatever interest the signer happens to own in a property, with no warranties. It does not promise the title is good or even that the signer owns anything; it just passes along whatever they have. That makes it quick and cheap for transfers between people who trust each other, and risky for an arm’s-length purchase, where a buyer wants the protection of a warranty deed instead.
When Should I Use a Quitclaim Deed?
Good uses are transfers where title is not in question: removing an ex-spouse after a divorce, adding or removing a spouse, transferring your home into your own revocable trust, clearing up a co-ownership between family members, or correcting how a name is spelled on title. In those situations the lack of warranties does not matter, because everyone already knows the history of the property.
Why Is a Quitclaim Deed a Bad Way to Leave My Home to My Kids?
Because deeding your home to your children now is a completed gift, and it backfires three ways: they inherit your old (low) tax basis instead of the date-of-death value, so a later sale can owe tens of thousands in capital-gains tax; the gift can trigger a Florida Medicaid transfer penalty if you need care within five years; and you lose control, the home is now exposed to their creditors, divorces, and lawsuits. A lady bird deed reaches the no-probate goal without any of that.
Does a Quitclaim Deed Avoid Probate?
Only if you give the property away during your lifetime, which creates the tax and Medicaid problems above. A quitclaim does not have a built-in "at death" feature. And simply adding a child as a co-owner does not reliably help either: in Florida, co-owners are tenants in common with no right of survivorship unless the deed expressly says so (Fla. Stat. §689.15), so your share can still land in probate. To keep your home out of probate while you keep control and the tax step-up, the right tool in Florida is a lady bird (enhanced life estate) deed, not a quitclaim.
Does a Quitclaim Deed Remove Someone From a Mortgage?
No. A quitclaim changes who is on the title, not who is on the loan. If your ex-spouse quitclaims the house to you, they are still legally responsible for the mortgage until it is refinanced or paid off. This is one of the most common and costly misunderstandings in a divorce transfer.
Do I Owe Documentary Stamp Tax on a Florida Quitclaim Deed?
It depends on consideration. A pure gift with no money and no mortgage owes only the $0.70 minimum. But if there is consideration, including a beneficiary taking the property subject to a mortgage, Florida documentary stamp tax (Fla. Stat. §201.02) is figured on that amount. Adding an adult child to a mortgaged home, for example, can unexpectedly trigger doc-stamp tax on their share of the loan balance. (Moving your homestead between spouses, where the mortgage is the only consideration, is exempt.)
What Has to Be in a Valid Florida Quitclaim Deed?
The grantor and grantee, the full legal description from the prior recorded deed, words of conveyance, and proper execution. Under Fla. Stat. §689.01 a deed is valid when signed before two subscribing witnesses; a notary acknowledgment (§695.03) is what lets it be recorded. Since January 1, 2024, each witness’s mailing address must also appear on the deed to record it (§695.26). If the property is homestead and the signer is married, the spouse generally must join. A wrong legal description or a missed spousal joinder can cloud title for years.
Can the Notary Be One of My Two Witnesses?
Yes. Florida does not require three separate people. The notary can also serve as one of the two subscribing witnesses, as long as the notary actually watches you sign and then signs the deed a second time on a witness line (with name and, since 2024, a mailing address). What does not work is a notary who only completes the notarial block: a notary may acknowledge a signature that was made earlier and out of their presence, so that signature alone does not count as a subscribing witness. A deed with one real witness plus a notary-only signature is a witness short and invalid. Because the notary acknowledges your signature, not their own, there is no self-notarization problem. Many title companies still prefer two independent witnesses plus the notary to avoid any later dispute. (This deed rule does not carry over to wills, where the notary on the self-proving affidavit should not double as a witness.)
How Much Does a Quitclaim Deed Cost at Your Firm?
Our flat fee for a quitclaim, warranty, or life-estate deed is $399, plus county recording (about $18 to $30) and any documentary stamp tax that applies. Posted up front and honored for 90 days. We will also tell you, free, if a quitclaim is the wrong tool for what you are trying to do.
Common Situations
The divorce transfer that left the loan behind. A wife keeps the house; the husband quitclaims his title to her. A year later she learns he is still on the mortgage and a missed payment hit her credit. The quitclaim moved the title but never touched the loan; a refinance was the missing step.
The $40,000 "simple" gift. A father quitclaims his paid-off Orlando home to his daughter to skip probate. When she sells after his death, she owes capital-gains tax on decades of appreciation because she took his basis, not the stepped-up value. A lady bird deed would have erased the tax.
The right use. A couple moves their Sarasota home into their new revocable trust with a quitclaim deed. Title is clean, the trust is funded, and probate is avoided, exactly the job a quitclaim is built for.
The bargain lot bought by quitclaim. A man buys a vacant lot from an acquaintance who offers a fast, cheap closing by quitclaim deed. A year later a survey turns up an old judgment lien and a relative of a prior owner claiming an interest. Because a quitclaim carries no warranties, he has no recourse against the seller, and clearing the mess takes a quiet-title suit (a court action to resolve disputed ownership) that costs far more than a proper closing would have. Buying at arm’s length is the one job a quitclaim should never do; that is what a warranty deed and title insurance are for.
Sources of Law
- Fla. Stat. §689.01: execution of deeds (notary plus two subscribing witnesses). flsenate.gov (retrieved 2026-06-07)
- Fla. Stat. §201.02: documentary stamp tax on deeds and consideration. flsenate.gov
- IRC §1012 (carryover basis) and §1014 (step-up in basis at death), cited by section.
Updated on July 12, 2026. Reviewed by Kevin D. Klagge, Esq., Fla. Bar No. 99502. Attorney Kevin Klagge represents families, businesses, and international clients in estate planning and international law, with a focus on Florida legal tools. He litigates estate and business issues in court. General information about Florida law, not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created. Do not send confidential information until we have agreed to represent you.