What is a Kansas Quitclaim Deed?

A Kansas (KS) quitclaim deed is a document that transfers ownership of a property between two people (the grantor and the grantee), but doesn’t override or invalidate other claims on the same property.

A quitclaim deed doesn’t guarantee legal rights to the property, while a warranty deed guarantees that the grantor (giver) has legal right to the property. In the event there are other claims on the property, the transfer of property may be deemed invalid. As a result, quitclaim deeds are most often used in property transfers between family members and friends.

Quitclaim deeds are also mistakenly called “quit claims deed,” “quickclaim deed,” and “quick claim deed,” but each of these terms refers to the same document.

Important Laws & Requirements

•   Laws: § 58-2204
•   Wording: § 58-2204 prescribes the language to be used in a KS quitclaim deed.
•   Transfer tax: Kansas has no state transfer tax.
•   Signing: The grantee and grantor must both sign the quitclaim deed, and all signatures must be witnessed by a notary (§ 58-2205, § 58-2209, § 58-2211)
•   Recording: You must register your deed at your earliest possible convenience. Partially this protects you, while also allowing the state record to show accurate ownership of the property in question.

How to Write & File a Quitclaim Deed in Kansas

Quitclaim deeds are a useful and easy tool to help manage your property, especially if you’re recently married, or want to pass property between family members.

Fortunately, filing a quitclaim deed is relatively simple and cheap in Kansas. The state has no transfer tax, although there is a small tax on mortgage registration. You may have to pay a small amount if your quitclaim deed is being used to add someone as an owner on a property with an existing mortgage.

Step 1: Provide Relevant Identifying Information

At the top of your quitclaim deed, there will be blank areas for the Preparer to fill in their own personal information. This information includes their full legal name and address, including the state and zip code.

Placing this information anywhere other than the provided lines can cause problems when you go to record your quitclaim deed, and might mean you have to write a new one.

You will also need to provide which county the property is in, directly under the subheading “State of Kansas”.

Step 2: Grantor (Seller) Details

The second paragraph of the quitclaim deed form starts with “Know All Men By These Presents.”. The following line provides two blank spaces separated by a dollar sign. You need to write the full dollar amount of the property value on the first blank space, and then write it numerically on the second blank line.

So, for instance, “one thousand and four dollars. $1,004”.

There will then be two more blank spaces, separated by the letter “a”. The first space is for the Grantor’s full name, and the second space is for grantor, ex. “Jane Doe a, Grantor”

The next blank area is for the full address of the Grantor.

Step 3: Grantee (Buyer/Receiver) Details

The next blank area is where you fill in the Grantee details, starting with “Hereby quitclaims”. In this space, enter the Grantee’s full legal name. The next blank space should be filled with the word “Grantee”.

The next part you must fill is the street address of the Grantee, starting with the words “Residing at”. Fill in “County of”, “City of” and “State of” with the relevant information. “State of” should always be followed by Kansas for quitclaim deeds filed in Kansas.

There is one more blank space after grantee details  to include the county where the property being transferred is located. If the property itself is on the border of two counties, use the mailing address for the property to determine which county it belongs in.

Step 4: Signing

The last section is for the Grantor and Grantee to both provide their written names, signatures, and current addresses.

The state of Kansas requires that all quitclaim deeds be witnessed by a notary public, so the closing area of the document is reserved for your notary to provide their ID number, commission expiration, and notary seal. They’ll also fill in the county where the document was witnessed, and the names of anyone else present at the time.

Step 5: Registering the Deed

After you’ve filled out the deed, signed it, and had it notarized, the deed must be registered with the Kansas Register of Deeds Office in the county of the property in question. If that county is different from the home county or grantee or grantor, it cannot be registered in their home county instead.