General Housing Information

questions & answers

Question: Can a son sign over his house to his father if he can no longer afford to make the payments?

Answer: A quitclaim deed is one way to legally transfer ownership of real property to another person or legal entity. When a quitclaim deed has been successfully completed, it transfers any interest the grantor (person giving up property) has in the property to the recipient (grantee). The Maricopa County Recorder’s Office has two different full service offices where you can complete and file a quitclaim deed. Arizona Revised Statute 33-401 outlines the general requirements for transfer of property. 33-401. Formal requirements of conveyance; writing; subscription; delivery; acknowledgment; defects A. No estate of inheritance, freehold, or for a term of more than one year, in lands or tenements, shall be conveyed unless the conveyance is by an instrument in writing, subscribed and delivered by the party disposing of the estate, or by his agent thereunto authorized by writing. B. Every deed or conveyance of real property must be signed by the grantor and must be duly acknowledged before some officer authorized to take acknowledgments. C. In every deed or conveyance of real property in which the grantee is subject to regulation pursuant to title 6, 10 or 29, or would be subject to regulation pursuant to title 6, 10 or 29 if doing business in this state, the grantee's name and address and the state in which the grantee is incorporated, organized, licensed, chartered or registered shall be set forth fully, together with the name of the country under which the grantee is chartered or formed. The validity of any deed shall not be affected by any failure to comply with the requirements set forth in this subsection. D. For the purposes of this section, a deed or conveyance containing any defect, omission or informality in the certificate of acknowledgment and which has been recorded for longer than ten years in the office of the county recorder of the county in which the property is located shall be deemed to have been duly acknowledged on and after the date of its recording. For the full text of the statues relating to the transfer of property, visit (see Chapter 4): http://www.azleg.state.az.us/arizonarevisedstatutes.asp?Title=33 For information and locations of the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office, visit: http://recorder.maricopa.gov/