Deed requirements and deed clauses

A deed transfers an interest

A deed is the written instrument used to convey an interest in real property. The grantor conveys; the grantee receives. Distinguish a valid transfer between the parties from recording that protects interests in the public record.

Requirements and completion

For an ordinary Florida deed, look for a legally competent grantor, an identifiable grantee, a sufficient legal description, words showing a present intent to convey, and proper execution. Florida generally requires the grantor to sign in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. The grantee ordinarily need not sign. A consideration clause may acknowledge value, but a completed gift deed does not require a purchase price.

Delivery and acceptance complete the conveyance. Delivery means intent to make the deed presently effective, not merely moving paper. A signed deed kept under the grantor's control for a possible future gift has not necessarily been delivered. Acknowledgment authenticates execution for recording; recording is distinct from delivery and generally is not essential to validity between the parties. Special ownership and execution situations require separate analysis.

Read each clause by its job

The granting clause, also called the premises or operative words of conveyance, expresses the transfer. The habendum, traditionally introduced by “to have and to hold,” describes the estate or interest granted. A reddendum, or reservation clause, identifies an interest retained by the grantor. For example, a grantor may convey land while reserving an easement. An exception excludes something from the grant rather than creating a newly retained interest.

Covenants are promises about title. Seisin concerns ownership; the right to convey concerns authority; against encumbrances concerns undisclosed burdens; quiet enjoyment and warranty concern lawful superior title claims; further assurance concerns additional acts needed to perfect title. Quiet enjoyment is not a promise against neighborhood noise.

Florida's statutory warranty form binds the grantor with full common-law covenants even when they are not individually written out. Its quitclaim form transfers the grantor's existing right, title, and interest without a warranty of title. A quitclaim can transfer good title if the grantor has it.

The diagram first groups four deed functions: the granting clause expresses transfer, the habendum describes the estate, the reddendum reserves an interest, and covenants make title promises. Below, proper execution leads to delivery and acceptance. Recording appears separately as a public record step. The deed must identify the parties and land; a tax parcel number does not replace the legal description. — Deed contents, completion of the transfer, and recording serve different functions.

Description is not a tax number

Under Florida's statutory warranty and quitclaim forms, the parcel identification number is not a substitute for the legal description. An omitted parcel number does not itself invalidate the conveyance or make the deed unrecordable. Identify the land with the legal description, the estate with the habendum, the retained interest with a reservation, and the title promises with the covenants.