ILLINOIS QUITCLAIM DEED INFORMATION

1.  BASIC SERVICE: The first option is the most basic service available. I will prepare the new deed and grantor/grantee statement (if in Cook County) for $150.  With this option, it will be your responsibility to get the deed recorded with the County Recorder.  There is nothing legal about obtaining the municipal stamps and recording the deed.  It is just time consuming and there are fees that must be paid. 

2.  FULL SERVICE: This service includes everything in the Basic Services Option PLUS obtaining local municipal exempt transfer stamps, and recording the quitclaim deed with the county recorder’s office.  If paying by cash or check, total fees start at $355 for municipalities that do not have transfer stamps.  Some municipalities require various water, sewer, or property inspections prior to the issuance of the stamp. 

CLICK HERE FOR A LIST OF FEES FOR 100+ MUNICIPALITIES IN ILLINOIS.

Total costs and requirements for quitclaim deeds vary between municipalities. If your municipality is not included or you would like more information about quitclaim deeds and an approximate cost, please click the "Contact" tab above.  In your message, please include the city and county in which the property is located. 

Attorney Brian Lohse, a licensed Illinois Attorney, will prepare the new quitclaim deed for you. It will be drafted and individually tailored for you.  The new deed will not be created by an online program or generic template. 

Lohse Law can assist with quitclaim deed preparation and recording in most every city, municipality, and County in Illinois.  Lohse Law does not handle non-exempt transactions for Calumet City.  Please retain a local attorney for assistance with non-exempt transactions in Calumet City.

It is not easy to say how long the process will take.  I usually turn around requests within one or two business days.  However, local municipalites and the recorders office each can take days or weeks depending on their current staffing levels.  To give a general idea, if the property is in a city that doesn't require a transfer stamp, the process can take as little as a week or 10 days depending on how quickly you sign and return documents to me.  For some properties in Chicago, the process could take up to a month or so.

There can be legal ramifications and consequences when recording a quitclaim deed.  Lohse Law does not know all of the details of your specific situation.  Therefore, Lohse Law is not providing advice or potential negative consequences that you may encounter or if recording a quitclaim deed is something in your best interest. Lohse Law is simply preparing the deed at your request. 

A few common scenarios or situations that you need to consider:

1. If one of the new grantees has a judgment against them, it will now attach to the property.
2. You may have some inheritance or capital gains tax consequences from a stepped-up basis. You should consult with an accountant first to see if a quitclaim deed is a wise decision. 
3. A quitclaim deed that removes a senior citizen(s) may eliminate the property tax exemption and possibly the senior freeze. This could impact the annual property taxes by many thousands of dollars each year. 
4. You cannot unilaterally remove someone from a deed. All parties must agree. 
5. If the grantor is deceased, you cannot do a quitclaim deed; you will need to contact a probate or estate planning attorney to help you.
6. If there is a deceased joint tenant (owner) currently on title or named on the deed, you may need to record a document called a Deceased Joint Tenant Affidavit in addition to the deed (additional fees apply). 
7. Removing a name from “title” does not remove that person from the mortgage. If you want an individual removed from the mortgage, you must refinance the property.
8. If there is a title insurance policy for the property, a conveyance via quitclaim deed may terminate or cancel this policy.
9. A quitclaim deed prepared pursuant to a divorce may not be exempt from paying transfer stamps.  In other words, transfer stamps may need to be purchased. Different municipalities have different requirements. This usually does not apply to properties specifically in Chicago because there is a specific exception for divorcing couples in the City of Chicago.
10. In Illinois, married couples receive automatic homestead rights for the marital home. Therefore, if you are separated, but not legally divorced (yet), and the grantor still resides in the property, the grantor could regain Homestead rights in the property.
11. If you have a mortgage and the person named on the new deed is not on the mortgage, there is a chance the mortgagee could accelerate the loan. This commonly applies for people deeding to an LLC. It shouldn’t affect the mortgage if you are adding a spouse to title, removing a former spouse from title, or deeding to a family trust.

Maybe... Maybe not...  

Typically, a transaction qualifies for being "exempt" from paying transfer stamps  when there is less than $100 in total consideration conveyed.  "Consideration" is a legal term that includes, but is not limited to: cash/money, assumption of debt, debt relief, exchange of other assets of value, mortgage assumption.  All of these forms of consideration may be used to calculate transfer stamps for the municipality, county, and or state. 

Therefore, QCDs pursuant to divorce may not qualify as an exempt transaction.  The relevant portion of the MSA -- possibly the section that details the division of real property -- may need to be provided to the municipality so that they can calculate the transfer stamp amount due.  Be advised that the clerk in some municipalities will act as a judge and jury as to whether or not the transaction is "exempt" or not from paying transfer stamps.

For a couple's primary residence located in Chicago specifically, there is an exemption for QCDs pursuant to a divorce or separation. The Chicago ordinance states:  "The transfer of title to or a beneficial interest in the primary residence of a legally recognized couple, from one member of the couple to the other, by order of court resulting from a legal separation or divorce proceeding."

When retaining Lohse Law to prepare and record a quit claim deed, the representation agreement assumes that there was no consideration given.

Delivery of the deed from the Grantor to the Grantee is not sufficient to make the deed effective.  The deed may be perfectly good and valid, but it won't be effective until it is recorded.  Deeds must be (a) delivered, (b) accepted, and (c) recorded to become effective.  Recording the deed is important because recording serves as notice of the conveyance. 

Illinois law says that all properly executed deeds are in force from after it is recorded. Until the new deed is entered into the public record (by recording), there is no formal notice of the change in ownership. This is important to understand because it means that if a grantor conveys the land to grantee-1 and the deed is not recorded, and then then grantor later conveys the same land to a different grantee, grantee-2, and that subsequent deed from grantee-2 is recorded, the earlier grantee-1 loses rights to the property!  Recording the deed as soon as possible after executing it is the best way to avoid a situation such as this.

Not unless you specifically ask... Client has determined on their own that this is an Exempt Transaction and a QCD is in their best interests.  However, if we are discussing your situation on the phone, more often than not I may provide my opinion or guidance if there are better options. 

For the low fees being charged, LOHSE LAW is only offering the ministerial services of completing the proper paperwork, and if applicable, submitting it through the necessary and channels of the local municipal and county offices.