Defective Warranty Deed

**buzzwood** · 03-14-2009, 01:17 PM

My question involves real estate located in the State of: Florida. My partner and I sold a condo in 2005. The closing was held at a Title Co. and they prepared the Warranty Deed for the new owners. I was recently served a summons for a foreclosure by the new owners. My partner and I were named as defendants. I called the plaintiff's attorney and was told we were not being held liable for the defaulted morgage, but had to be named because a title search showed that the 2005 Warranty Deed conveyed to the new owners was defective. The defect involves the fact that my partner and I were named as Joint Tenants With Rights of Survivorship, but the martial status was not listed behind each name. i.e " a single man". One of my questions is : Does this make for a defective deed? What are the legal requirements for a valid Warranty Deed? Consideration and everything was exchanged. The Title Co. says the designation of Joint with Rights... was enough. My other question is would a Quit Claim Deed Correct this so we can have our name removed entirely from the Foreclosure Lawsuit? My final question is that I was served, but my partner, who is named as a defendent, has not been served. Does that mean he is not required to respond to the Lawsuit? I am hoping someone can point me in the right direction. This is very aggrevating as my credit is excellent and I am afraid this will show up in some format on my record.

**buzzwood** · 03-15-2009, 12:02 PM

I forgot to mention that time is running out for me to make some sort of answer. I would appreciate any answers to my questions to help me make the final decision as to what to do. I was served on the 10th of March and only have the usual 20 days to answer.

jk · 03-15-2009, 12:22 PM

first, obviously, you need to respond but my question is; are you being sued? If so, what for? I would suggest you were included merely because the lender is not clear all interests to the property were conveyed with the deed in question. For them to be legally allowed to foreclose, they need to be able to claim all interests from all parties involved.

Without getting specific to Florida;

yes, the deed is defective. In many states, the marital status is critical because there are legal claims available to a spouse and could cause the title to be clouded. It is not clear if the title holders were single or married so there may be a spouse somewhere that still has a claim to the property without the info not provided on the deed.

The situation is; you need to find out how to amend the deed already filed to clarify the marital status. For efficiency and speed, I would suggest speaking with a local real estate attorney to determine the proper action to make the correction. Not sure but the courts, via this action, may be able to amend the deed with the proper info.

and no, a QC deed will not correct the warranty deed since a QC deed merely transfers whatever interest you hold in a property to the grantee. You no longer have any rights in the property and what you are trying to do is simply clarify the info on the deed. A QC deed could not do that.

**buzzwood** · 03-16-2009, 05:33 AM

Thanks for the info. I appreciate it. Yes, I am being sued and I do believe it is for the reason of any interest I may have in the property. But, unless I can remove my name through a corrected title, I will receive a judgement against me for those interest rights. This will always follow me for insurance, etc. I have contacted the Title Co. that prepared the deed and am waiting for a response from them as to what they intend to do to fix this. Their stance is that the term "joint tenants with rights of survivorship" is the status. I also made it clear that time is running out. Do you know what happens if my partner is not served a summons, even though he is named as a defendant? I know he can not respond to the suit if he is not.

**buzzwood** · 03-16-2009, 12:57 PM

I just wanted to post this as a followup in case it helps anyone else. The Title Co. that handled my original closing came through for me and issued a correction to the original warranty deed for the marital status omision. I picked it up today and walked over to the court house and recorded it. Now I have to include a certified copy in my answer to the court and send a certified copy to the Plaintiff's lawyer. Hopefully all is well now. Thanks for your input.