Farhan Hassan | May 1, 2017 
Summary Real Estate Disposition Judgments and Quit Claim Deeds are both documents used in divorce cases in order to transfer one party’s interests in a piece of real property to the party who will be keeping that property after the divorce. Both a Summary Real Estate Disposition Judgment and a Quit Claim Deed are ultimately filed with the County Recorder’s Office. The effect of filing one of these documents with the Recorder’s Office is to confirm that one party’s name is being removed from ownership of the property, and to reference any marital lien(s) (if present in the case). This is a separate issue from whether or not a party’s name is on the mortgage for a piece of real property.
There is one important difference between a Summary Real Estate Disposition Judgment and a Quit Claim Deed, however. That difference is that for a Quit Claim Deed, the party who will not be keeping the real property must sign the Quit Claim Deed in order for it to be valid and recordable. With a Summary Real Estate Disposition Judgment, on the other hand, neither parties’ signature is required on the document. This is because the Summary Real Estate Disposition Judgment is an Order signed by the court that requires the Recorder’s Office to make the transfer of interest, so all that is required is the judge’s signature.
The court’s authority to issue a Summary Real Estate Disposition Judgment must be included in the language of the Judgment and Decree. This requires a little bit of extra drafting when creating a Judgment and Decree, however, it is usually worth it.
The major advantage of a Summary Real Estate Disposition Judgment over a Quit Claim Deed is precisely the fact that the party being divested of an interest does not have to sign the document. This means there is less time that has to be spent waiting for the other party to sign, or worrying the other party will not sign. Because of these concerns, many Judgment and Decrees contain language trying to protect the party keeping the home from the possibility that the other party will never sign the Quit Claim Deed. Those precautions can be simplified by using a Summary Real Estate Disposition Judgment.
If you have any questions regarding Summary Real Estate Disposition Judgments or Quit Claim Deeds, please call me today at 952-800-2025 or reach out via our online contact form to set up your free consultation.
