Topics on this page
- What Is a Deed?
- What’s the difference between a deed and a title?
- What’s the difference between a general warranty deed, special warranty deed, and quit claim deed?
- Where can I find a deed form?
- I want my children to inherit my property. Can I just add them to my deed now?
- My name has changed. Do I have to update my deed?
- My husband and I owned our house together as joint tenants. He has passed away. Do I need to update the deed so that it shows my name only?
- When my grandmother died, my mother inherited her house, but did not update the deed. My mother has just passed away. What do I do now?
- If the deed says one thing and the will says another, which one trumps?
- Do transfer on death deeds work in Maryland?
- I want to create a trust. Can I deed my house to my trust?
- Is a "deed of trust" the same thing as a deed?
1. What Is a Deed?
A deed is a written and signed legal document that transfers property ownership.
Maryland law requires all deeds to include the names of the grantor (the seller) and grantee (the buyer), a description of the property, and the interest that you intend to convey.
Read the Law: Md. Code, Real Property § 4-101
All deeds must be recorded with the Department of Land Records in the county where the property is located.
How to Find the Deed to Your Property from the Maryland Courts
2. What’s the difference between a deed and a title?
Title is legal ownership of a piece of property and a set of rights over that property. A deed is the legal document that gives you those rights.
When you have title of a property, you have the following rights:
- The right of possession – you are the legal owner of the property and have the right to be on the property
- The right of control – you can use the property however you want, as long as you are not doing anything illegal
- The right of exclusion – you have the authority to tell people to get off of your property and invite them onto your property
- The right of enjoyment – you have the right to live peacefully and not be bothered by others while on your property
- The right of disposition – you have the right to transfer ownership of the property
Remember, title is a concept and a deed is a physical document.
3. What’s the difference between a general warranty deed, special warranty deed, and quit claim deed?
General warranty deed
This type of deed warrants that the title has no defects from previous owners to the current owner. Title defects are anything that would inhibit the seller from transferring the property, such as a lien or mortgage. General warranty deeds provide grantees (buyers) with the most protection.
Special warranty deed
The grantor is warranting that the title is good only during the time the grantor owned the property. There are no assurances that the previous owner’s title was free of defects. This is the most commonly used type of deed in Maryland.
Quitclaim deed
This type of deed does not provide any warranty of good title. The grantor is simply transferring whatever title he has, whether free of defects or not.
4. Where can I find a deed Form?
Maryland’s Department of Land Records does not provide forms for deeds. However, there is a Maryland form for a Transfer-on-Death deed (see Transfer-on-Death and Life Estate Deeds), and there are samples of other types of deeds available online. You may also check with your local law library.
Ideally, you should work with an attorney to draft or review your deed to ensure you are conveying what you intend. Deeds may appear to be simple, but small mistakes can have significant consequences.
If you do use a sample deed to make a deed on your own, be careful when selecting a sample. You want to make sure that the deed sample you use includes all Maryland requirements for valid deeds, and that it matches the type of transfer you are trying to make. Different states can have different types of deeds, so you do not want to model your deed on a deed or form from another state.
Read the Law: Md. Code, Real Property § 4-101
5. I want my children to inherit my property. Can I just add them to my deed now?
Yes, but you want to be careful with how you add them to the deed.
If you are adding a loved one to your deed for the purpose of passing the property to them after your death, you should consider a life estate deed or transfer-on-death deed. With either of these deed types, control and ownership of the property is transferred after your death rather than while you are alive. This provides you, as the primary homeowner, with important protections while also providing for the smooth passage of property to your family. For more information, see Transfer-on-Death and Life Estate Deeds.
Be aware that, if you add your child as a regular co-owner, they will have immediate ownership rights to the property as soon as you add their name to the deed, not only after you have died. This can be problematic if the child wants to sell their share of the property at some point, or if they are ever sued. Any creditors of the child can now go after the child’s ownership interest in the property to satisfy a claim. For example, the creditor could put a lien on or seize the property. Additionally, your children will probably have to pay capital gains tax if they decide to sell the property. When you add a child to your deed, your child inherits your basis in the property (i.e. the amount you originally paid for the property). Then, if the property is sold, your child will pay capital gains tax on the difference between the basis and the sale price.
Before adding your children to your deed, you should speak to an attorney to understand the impacts.
6. My name has changed. Do I have to update my deed?
You are not required to update your deed to reflect your name change. However, if you decide to sell or refinance the property, you will need to show supporting documentation of the name change, such as through a marriage certificate. Having your new name consistently recorded on all of your legal documents will make life easier and not hold up the sale or refinance process.
If you decide to change the name on your deed, you need to file a new deed.
7. My husband and I owned our house together as joint tenants. He has passed away. Do I need to update the deed so that it shows my name only?
Because you were joint tenants, you are not required to update the deed to reflect your husband’s death; however, it may be a good idea to do so. Doing so may be helpful if you wish to sell the home or refinance the home.
8. When my grandmother died, my mother inherited her house, but did not update the deed. My mother has just passed away. What do I do now?
It is important for you to get clear ownership of your house. If the property stays in a deceased person’s name, the house is more vulnerable to being lost through tax sale, foreclosure, partition, etc. because you have fewer rights as an heir, and it is difficult to qualify for important resources or supports.
The process to establish clear ownership will depend on whether ownership of the property transferred through a form of joint tenancy or a trust. To check, you will need to look to the deed or trust document to know if someone automatically inherited the property. If the property passed through one of these methods, it is possible no additional action is needed. See Joint Ownership of Real Property.
But, if the property was not transferred through one of those means, the property is part of your grandmother’s estate and must go through probate. To know who inherits the house, you will need to read her will, if she made one. If there was no will, then the laws of intestacy (default inheritance rules written into Maryland law) determine who inherited the property. Just because the family understood the home as having passed to your mother does not necessarily mean that it did.
See Maryland Intestacy Law.
If the home passed to individual(s) who are also now deceased, you will need to go through the probate process to transfer their share of the property as well. Sometimes cleaning up the title to a home can involve probating multiple estates. See Estate Administration – Step-by-Step Guide and Timeline.
9. If the deed says one thing and the will says another, which one trumps?
Generally, the deed trumps the will. Only property titled solely in the name of the decedent is governed by the will. So if the property is titled only in the decedent’s name then you look to the will to determine who rightfully owns the property.
10. Do transfer on death deeds work in Maryland?
Yes and No. In 2026, Maryland passed legislation establishing transfer-on-death deeds. A homeowner may now create and record a transfer-on-death deed in Maryland, but it will only be effective if the homeowner dies after October 1, 2026, when the law becomes effective.
However, Maryland already recognizes life estate deeds. Like transfer-on-death deeds, life estate deeds allow for the automatic transfer of property upon the death of the owner and are ideal for avoiding probate.
If you would like to make a deed that would be valid in advance of October 1, 2026, contact a lawyer about a life estate deed. For more information about the difference between the two types of deeds and how to create one, please see Transfer-on-Death and Life Estate Deeds.
11. I want to create a trust. Can I deed my house to my trust?
Yes, if you create a trust, you can create and file a new deed showing the transfer of ownership from you to your trust. This is an estate planning tool used to avoid probate.
However, if your primary purpose in creating a trust is to pass your home outside of probate, you may want to explore whether a life estate deed or transfer-on-death deed is a better option for you. These deeds also allow you to pass your home outside of probate, and they are more simple and less costly than establishing a trust.
12. Is a “deed of trust” the same thing as a deed?
No. There are similarities between a “deed” and a “deed of trust.” Both a “deed” and “deed of trust” are written and signed legal documents. Both documents are recorded with your county’s Land Records. However, they do totally different things. A deed transfers property ownership. A deed of trust is an agreement where the borrower is using the property to secure a loan.
A deed of trust is very similar to a mortgage, but there are key differences between a deed of trust and a mortgage. For example, mortgages generally have two parties: the borrower and the lender. A deed of trust has three parties: the borrower, the lender, and the trustee. The trustee is a third party whose main role is to handle the foreclosure process. Another important difference between a mortgage and deed of trust is the way the foreclosure process is handled (e.g., type of foreclosure, judicial versus nonjudicial; length of the process, etc.). If you don’t know if you have a mortgage or a deed of trust, review your documents or talk to an attorney.