How to Reverse a Stolen Quitclaim
If you obtained real property under a quitclaim deed, as often happens when property is acquired through intestate inheritance, for example, or at a tax auction, your title is not insured. You may find someone else claiming title to the property and perhaps even occupying it against your will. If your claim to the property is legitimate, however, there are actions you can take to recover both possession and marketable title.
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Things You'll Need
- Copy of quitclaim deed
- Title search report
- Copy of quiet title judgment
Instructions
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Perform a title search on the property at the county property records office. It is best to hire a real estate lawyer to do this for you. Your purpose is to trace back the chain of title to prove that the person who transferred the property to you had legitimate title to the property at the time the quitclaim deed was issued.
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File a "quiet title action" in the appropriate county court using the title search report as evidence. This action is essentially a request that the court declare you the legal owner of the property. If you win, the court will issue a written judgment that establishes your title.
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Send a copy of the quiet title judgment by registered mail to the other claimant along with a written demand that he surrender possession of the property within a certain period of time (10 days, for example).
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File an ejectment action against the other claimant in the appropriate state court if he fails to surrender possession by the deadline you specified. The court will issue an order to the appropriate official (the county sheriff in most cases) to forcibly evict the other claimant from the property.
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Contact a title insurance company. Show them copies of the title search report and the quiet title judgment and obtain a title insurance policy issued in your name. If another claimant appears and successfully challenges your title, the title insurance company will fully compensate you for your losses.
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Tips & Warnings
Issuing a quitclaim deed to someone is like telling them, "I hereby transfer to you any ownership interest that I may have in the property, although I make no warranty that I have any ownership interest at all."
If your title search reveals that the party from whom you acquired the property had no legitimate title, you have no legitimate title either and cannot successfully challenge another title claimant even if the other claimant has no legitimate title. Furthermore, it will be very difficult for you to win a lawsuit against the party who issued you the quitclaim deed unless you can prove fraudulent misrepresentation.
