Arizona Warranty Deed Form

What is an Arizona General Warranty Deed Form?

An Arizona general warranty deed allows the current owner (grantor) to transfer Arizona real estate to a new owner (grantee) with a full warranty of title. Warranty deeds are recognized by various Arizona statutes.¹

By signing a warranty deed, the grantor guarantees that he or she has free and clear title to the property, has the right to convey title, and will defend the title against all claims, including those that arose before the grantor owned the property.

A warranty deed provides the most protection to the grantee of any deed form.

Arizona General Warranty Deeds and Warranty of Title

A warranty deed form is named after the full warranty of title it provides. A grantor that signs a warranty deed form makes an absolute guarantee about title to the property that covers periods before the grantor owned the property. The grantor is responsible, not only for his or her own actions or inactions, but also for the actions or inaction of all prior owners. For example, the grantor could be responsible for an unpaid tax lien or boundary dispute caused by a prior owner, even if the grantor is unaware of the title issue.

The warranty provided by a warranty deed form is often supplemented by title insurance. Title insurance shifts the risk of title issues from the grantor to the title insurance company. If it turns out that there is a problem with title, the new owner can file a claim against the title insurance policy instead of looking solely to the prior owner to resolve the issue.

Other Names for an Arizona General Warranty Deed Form

An Arizona general warranty deed form is sometimes called a warranty deed form. The word general is used to distinguish the warranty deed from a special warranty deed, which provides a more limited warranty of title.

How Do Arizona General Warranty Deed Forms Relate to Other Forms of Deeds?

The full warranty of title provides by an Arizona warranty deed distinguishes it from the two other forms of deeds that are defined by their warranty of title:

• Arizona special warranty deed form. An Arizona special warranty deed provides a warranty of title that is similar to a warranty deed form, but differs in one important respect: The grantor that signs a special warranty deed is only responsible for title issues that arose while that grantor owned the property. The grantor is not responsible for title issues relating to periods before the grantor owned the property.
• Arizona quitclaim deed form. An Arizona quitclaim deed makes no warranty of title. Where the warranty deed form provides the most protection to the grantee, the quitclaim deed provides the least protection to the grantee.

Arizona General Warranty Deeds and Other Arizona Deed Forms

Arizona warranty deeds may also differ from other types of deeds that are named after features other than the warranty of title. These deeds include:

• Arizona life estate deed form. An Arizona life estate deed divides ownership of the property into a life estate (held by a life tenant) and a remainder interest (owned by remainder beneficiaries). On the death of the life tenant, the property passes to the remainder beneficiaries without going through probate. If the life tenant wants to sell, mortgage, or otherwise deal with the property, the life tenant must get the consent of the remainder beneficiaries.
• Arizona beneficiary deed form. An Arizona beneficiary deed is a statutorily created deed that avoids the loss of control associated with life estate deeds. It allows the owner to name beneficiaries to inherit the property at the owner’s death without going through probate. But, unlike a life estate deed, the current owner can freely deal with the property—and even revoke or change the beneficiary designation—without involving the beneficiaries.

A life estate deed form may also be named after the warrant of title it provides (or doesn’t provide). For example, a life estate deed may be both a life estate deed and either a quitclaim deed, special warranty deed, or warranty deed.

Common Uses of Arizona General Warranty Deed Forms

Because of the risk that the grantor assumes when using a warranty deed, they are rarely used outside of the sale context. Unless money is changing hands, a grantor is unlikely to want to assume the risk associated with a warranty deed. Because of this risk, warranty deeds are used almost exclusively in the sale context.

How to Create an Arizona General Warranty Deed Form

An Arizona warranty deed form is only valid if it meets the requirements of Arizona law. These requirements include using the right vesting and warranty language to characterize the deed as a warranty deed. Seemingly minor differences in language can change the warranty and result in an entirely different type of deed.

The warranty deed form must also meet the requirements that apply to other types of Arizona deeds. These requirements include a valid legal description, statement of consideration, and a description of the manner in which co-owners will hold title, font size and page format requirements, and signature and notarization requirements.

Failure to meet these requirements could cause problems with recording, invalidate the deed, or create title issues that are costly to resolve.

1. See A.R.S. § 33-402(3). ↩