Expert: Dick Dennis - 10/1/2008

Question
In 1999 we recorded a quit claim deed for an acre of land which we had our house built on.  This section of land was a portion of a 7.5 acre section.  In 2006 the owner of the remaining 6.5 acres recorded a quit claim deed of joint tenancy for the entire 7.5 acre section.  We found this out when we appealed our tax assessment.  This is very disturbing to me because if something would have happened to either myself or my husband, the latest quit claim could have taken precedence.  Do we have any recourse besides demanding the attorney who filed the 2006 document to correct it and have it recorded again?  I do not feel this was unintentional.

Answer
The best I can understand your problem, Rene, I am afraid you are using the wrong term for the deed that gives you the title to the one-acre of land. Who gave you that quit-claim deed? People just do not use a quit-claim deed to buy property. The way you say it, "we recorded a quit-claim deed for an acre of land on which we built our house" tells me that you bought that land, recorded the deed and lived on the property.

If you bought that land, chances are you did not get a quit-claim deed. If someone, like a relative or close friend, gave you that land then you may have received a quit-claim deed for that property. You then recorded it. Therefore, I strongly suggest you or have someone go to the county recorder and check the title on that one acre of land. If you built a house on that land, you may have borrowed the money from a bank to build the house. The lender would not have given you the loan if the title to the land was not in your name.

The owner of the remaining land did NOT record a quit-claim deed of joint tenancy. He recorded a warranty deed. I will bet you received a warranty deed, too. When you bought that land, a title company handled the title insurance. Go into your file and check what kind of paperwork you have from the purchase of that property. Call up the title company and ask them to check your title for you.

This is as best I can understand in what you are involved. I wish you well.

Dick Dennis