real-estate new-hampshire
Issuance of new deed on death of grantor
<p>This question is about how deeds should be recorded on the death of the grantor.</p>
<p>If there is a quitclaim deed that lists a single person as the grantor and that grantor dies, then how (or if) is that deed changed to a new grantor who is the heir of the deceased grantor?</p>
<p>Obviously the will is probated first. So, assume that is done. What happens next? One possible answer is nothing. In other words the heir or heirs would transfer the property by quitclaim deed themselves at such time as they wished to convey the property to a third party. However, the drawback of doing this is that the dead person will still be listed as the grantor on the deed, so the buyer or receiver of the property would have to rely on an interpretation of the probate to assure themselves that they would have full rights to the property. Obviously it would be desirable to avoid buyer having to make a complex legal determination like this and it would be better if the grantor on the deed was alive and conveying the property. So, the question is whether this is possible and if so, how the new deed is created with a change of grantor from the deceased owner to the heir(s) of the deceased.</p>

<p>I eventually figured out the answer to this question.</p>
<p>In general, the process is that the probate court assigns an executor to the estate of the decedent and that executor then executes a deed conveying title to the real estate to the appropriate heir or heirs. In some states this type of deed is known as a &quot;personal representative's deed&quot;, where the &quot;personal representative&quot; of the estate is the executor. In New Hampshire, however, the deed issued is called a &quot;fiduciary deed&quot; (see <a href="http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/xlviii/477/477-30.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">RSA 477:30</a>) and it conveys the property in fee simple to the decedent's heir. Note that an important difference between PR deeds and a fiduciary deed is that the PR deeds are unwarranted, whereas in New Hampshire the executor must fully warrant a fiduciary deed.</p>

<h2>Why would the death have any effect on the deed?</h2>
<p>The quitclaim deed (or any other deed or finalised contract) would have the same effect as it had while the grantor was alive. There is no reason to modify it nor is there any ability to do so.</p>
