often the largest and most complicated item to be awarded to a surviving acquaintance or loved one of the deceased is the home in which the deceased lived. the party mentioned in the deed of distribution becomes the homeowner of the deceased’s home. this means that this party is now responsible for upkeep of the home, property taxes and payments if the deceased homeowner was still making mortgage payments. courts recommend that a deed of distribution be prepared by an attorney to increase the likelihood that the deed is properly created and valid.

be sure to identify and advise the title insurance company whom you are working with of what type of ownership you are taking. when in doubt consult with counsel or speak with the attorney on staff at the title company. entire (100%) by seller if there are more than one grantee (besides husband and wife), this is considered tenancy in common. a tenant’s in common interest can be sold or devised in a will. each party has a full ownership interest in the property.

georgia statutes do not provide a statutory form for a warranty deed; however, if a deed is sufficient in itself to make known the transaction between the parties, no want of form will invalidate it ( 44-5-33). before a deed can be recorded in this state, it must be signed by the grantor and attested or acknowledged as required by law ( 44-2-14). in order to record a warranty deed, it must be accompanied by a completed real estate transfer tax form when it is submitted to the clerk of the superior court. every deed conveying lands, such as a warranty deed, should be recorded in the office of the clerk of the superior court of the county where the real property is located. warranty deeds that are required by law to be recorded in the office of the clerk of the superior court and which are against the interests of third parties who have acquired a transfer or lien binding the same property and who are acting in good faith and without notice will take effect only from the time they are filed for record in the clerk’s office in the county where the property is located ( 44-2-2b).

a georgia limited warranty deed or special warranty deed provides a method of transferring property from one person to another in georgia. this means that the seller is stating that he or she guarantees that he or she has not transferred any interest in the property while he or she has had the property, however, there is no guarantee as to transfers that may have occurred before the grantor had the property. the individual elected to receive the executed georgia statement below after the georgia clerk of the superior courts has filed its information with the state as the return recipient along with his or her full mailing address. the county where this document is registered with the state of georgia will be required in the header of this document. a record of the calendar date when the grantor issuing this paperwork releases his or her current ownership to the grantee must be established by recording it in the first statement. continue through the conveyance statement to name the grantor (typically the current owner of the georgia property) where requested. the georgia property grantor’s actual street address, county, and state of residence is needed by this statement so that he or she can be easily identified and found through this paperwork. it is important that the individual or entity receiving the georgia property is properly identified in this statement.