Q: How effective is a Quit Claim Deed in Texas? Can it be challenged?
My bf died in October. He didn’t have a will. It was assumed his kids from previous marriage would take over his estate. In January (I still live in his house) I found a signed and notarized paper called a Quit Claim Deed. It was never filed. I looked it up and saw that it had to be filed at courthouse. I went and filed it. Now the house is in my name. I don’t know how to contact his kids so I don’t know if they even know that the property was transferred from his name to mine. I’m not sure if they are still in probate or if the oldest has gone to court to be awarded Shauns estate. The entire time we were together I never once met his kids. They weren’t close, thats why I assume he did the Quit Deed. He was having major health problems. My concern is, did I wait too long to file the deed? I did receive the tax papers and my name was listed as owner… or does the property belong to his kids since they were awarded his estate? I didn’t forge the deed. I just didn’t know to file it.
A: If it is a forged deed you can be criminally charged. In general quit claims deeds are not used in Texas .
A:
If you recorded the deed after your boyfriend died, you should be concerned about being prosecuted for a crime. This is especially true since he never gave you the deed; you just happened to find it after he was dead.
I would hire a criminal defense attorney to see what you can do to claim ignorance and fix the recording of the deed.
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A:
If the Quit Claim Deed is NOT a fraud, it is effective in giving you title to the land. As the other lawyers stated, it seems "fishy" that you simply discovered the deed.
Good Luck!
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