Maryland DEEDS by Arden Law

Attorney Answer:

A: Maryland law has 2 planning types of deeds that avoid probate - one is a Deed into a Grantor’s Trust (this requires the creation of a separate trust instrument, such as a Revocable Living Trust, and another is the Life Estate Deed, a perhaps under used but very powerful tool to seamlessly transfer property on death.  Maryland does not specifically call these deeds TOD / transfer on death deeds but they achieve the same purpose. 

Attorney Answer:

A: Every deed goes through a multi-step recording process in Maryland. Although the preliminary steps vary a bit by county, the last step of the process in every county is recording the deed with the Clerk in the Land Records office. Generally a deed must be signed, witnessed, notarized and be accompanied by county-specific forms and intake sheets before being presented at the various county offices. Our law firm can electronically submit most deeds which dramatically speeds the process. If you have questions about a specific county please give us a call.

Attorney Answer:

A: If property is in a deceased person’s name, the first step is to open an estate.  When the estate is ready to disburse, the Personal Representative should engage an attorney to prepare the deed of distribution to the heirs.  Note that even though the Personal Representative submits an account with the Court / Register of Wills to show where the property is going, the transfer is not automatic - a deed still must be prepared and recorded in Land Records appropriately reflecting the change in ownership from the deceased person to his/her heirs. Our firm can assist with estate deeds throughout Maryland.

Attorney Answer:

A:  Most purchase deeds in Maryland include a SPECIAL WARRANTY. The Seller basically promises that they have not done anything to negatively affect the title to the property.  (General warranties are common in other states).  

Attorney Answer:

A: A quit claim deed often leaves out necessary language but is not necessarily any cheaper to prepare! Lenders and realtors may generically refer to any no-consideration deed as a “Quit Claim” but a true quit claim (sometimes called quick claim) deed just says the peson signing is quitting or giving away what they may or may not own.   In most cases a true " Quit Claim Deed" is rarely the best choice.  Quit claims make sense where a possible owner isn’t sure what they own (e.g., a grandchild is one of 13 heirs who received a fractional interest in her grandmother’s estate and wants to give whatever she may have received to a cousin).   
Our law firm can prepare quit-claims and other no-consideration deeds - you’re welcome to give us a call to see which might be right in your situation. 

Attorney Answer:

  A: Possibly. It will depend on the county and specific circumstances. Standard deeds trigger transfer and recordation tax.  If there is no mortgage and your child is not giving you any money for the property, a parent/child transfer is ordinarily fully exempt from tax.  However, if there is a mortgage, some counties will impose a county transfer tax on parent/child deeds which can be several thousands of dollars. 
If you are considering adding a child to title, you might want to consider instead a life estate deed (with powers).  You’re welcome to contact our firm with questions.   

Attorney Answer:

A: The current owners (individuals) will need to convey (transfer) the property to the Trustees by a new deed. Maryland law offers a specific statutory exemption so that this type of transaction no longer is subject to possible transfer/recordation tax. When Arden Law Firm prepares a deed into or out of a revocable trust we make sure the necessary language is present.

Attorney Answer:

A: Deeds are stored in the Land Records (usually housed in the same building as the Civil Clerk of the Circuit Court for each county). The clerks usually charge 50 cents a page, but cannot assist with research to retrieve old deeds. You may be able to obtain access online with a land records subscription. If that sounds like too much work, let us help! Our law firm provides clients with copies of any deed we have prepared for free. We can also retrieve deeds we didn’t prepare, so long as they were recorded within the last 50 years and send it to you (hard copy or by email) for a nominal fee (about $20 per deed).

Warning: Beware of a scam where private companies will pose as a government office and suggest you pay them $90, $100 or $109 to get a copy of your deed. The courthouse only charges 50 cents a page and you should be able to get a copy of your deed from the attorney or title company who assisted with the recording at no additional charge.

Attorney Answer:

  A:  We can prepare many deeds in most Maryland jurisdictions but there are some deeds we do not handle.  We don’t commit to any deed representation until we talk and both agree.  If you have any question just give us a call!  

Our firm does not provide title insurance policies so we are not currently helping with situations where title insurance is desired (unless a settlement company is helping with a refinance and our attorney can send the deed to be recorded with the refinance). If you are purchasing property from an unrelated party and want title insurance you may wish to contact a traditional settlement / title company.  
While our firm handles many exempt deeds (e.g., parent/child, brother/sister, transfers to revocable trusts, etc..), we do not prepare domestic partnership deeds or deeds to/from a live-in boyfriend/girlfriend where tax exemption is sought as such deeds generally require further documentation to be exempt from transfer/recordation tax. Other Maryland real estate attorneys may be skilled with those types of deeds.  We also do not prepare “subject to” deeds (where unrelated parties attempt to transfer real estate without paying off the existing mortgage).