If my father signs something in writing for a quit claim deed will this stop my sister from recording hers? 10 Answers as of January 09, 2012

Based on your facts, you are in a position of strength. New Hampshire follows the rule that says: whoever records their document first wins. So even if your sister's deed was signed before yours, because your deed was recorded first, you are the owner of the property. Should your sister file anyway, you may need to pursue legal action to have her deed declared void, or a Quiet Title Action. You should seek the advice of an attorney for more specific legal advice.

Quitclaim deeds are messy. Did you father deliver the deed to your sister in October when he signed it? If so he may have validly transferred it to her then. If so, then your deed may be of no effect. Without knowing all of the facts it is hard to say. Your father may need to initiate litigation to get the property back into his name. He may have issues if he needs to go on Medicaid,etc. That being said an attorney should be consulted sooner rather than later! Your father should have probably done an estate plan.

Minnesota is a "race-notice" state. The document first recorded takes precedence. Once your quit-claim deed is duly recorded, your father no longer has title to the property. Your sister's subsequent recording would have no affect on your title, regardless of the date on her quit-claim deed. If your sister claimed that you had exerted "duress" or "undue influence" over your father, her recourse would be through the courts asking that the transfer to you be nullified. Recording her deed would not be effective.

State law sets priorities according to who is the first file.

Recording, not the date signed, controls. Since yours is recorded first, he quit claimed all of his interest to you. If she records, he will again quit claim all interest he has - which now is nothing.

Actually a real property question, and potentially very complicated. Short answer, if you recorded first then father doesn't have anything to deed to anybody, so sister is out. However, if her deed was signed first and given to her, and she failed to record, she might be able to change this by suing you.

Generally, the first document recorded controls. You should consult a real estate attorney for your options if the second deed is recorded.

Georgia is a "race-notice" state, that means the first to record is the owner of the property. A subsequent filing is not valid unless it is done as a corrective deed.

You may not own the property and have a huge mess. When he gave her the deed, even though she did not record it, he ceased to own the property and had nothing to deed to you. In recording yours, and I assume all of you created this mess without lawyers trying to save one or two hundred dollars, plan now on expensive (multi-thousand dollar) litigation. First of all, when she does record hers, she will probably sue you to quiet title and void your deed. And while it doesn't sound like you have any argument whatsoever, if you feel you do, you would need to sue her to quiet title. So in saving that $100 or $200 on lawyers, I'd guess you cost yourself ten thousand or more and a lot of litigation. Good luck.

This may be troublesome since you had notice of the prior deed to your sister and could result in a litigated dispute, NY is a Race-Notice state, meaning that not only does the first person to record a deed trump all other deeds, but that person also has to have no notice of any conflicting deeds. The earlier quitclaim deed to your sister is a conflicting deed.