When one spouse transfers property to the other spouse by deed, there is a rebuttable presumption the property was gifted to the other spouse as separate property. A deed must contain a sufficient description of the property. In some cases, there may be mistakes or conflicting information in the deed. When a court interprets a deed, it must determine the parties’ intent as expressed in the deed. A wife recently challenged a court’s interpretation of a quitclaim deed and the resulting characterization of the property based on a deed that stated the address for one tract of land but the legal description of another.
The husband bought a house and 23 acres and paid off the mortgage before the marriage. He also sold two of those acres and a mobile home before the marriage. The parties lived in the house on the 21-acre lot after the marriage. They subsequently bought back the two-acre tract and the mobile home.
Quitclaim Deed
Before he petitioned for divorce, the husband signed a quitclaim deed that stated the address of the 21-acre tract, but the legal description of the two-acre tract. The quitclaim deed described the property as 2 acres and identified the make, model, and serial number of the mobile home. The wife asked the court to characterize the 21 acres and house as her separate property based on the quitclaim deed. She argued the deed conveyed the house and 21 acres to her, but the husband contended that it referred to the two-acre tract and mobile home.