How to Find Owners of Properties
in Maryland

Sole Ownership

Sole ownership means that one person holds the title to a property, even if that person is married. However, if the owner becomes mentally or physically unable to manage their affairs because of illness or injury, a spouse or family member cannot automatically handle matters related to the property.

For instance, they wouldn't be able to refinance the mortgage, open a home equity line of credit, or sell the property. In such cases, they would need to petition the court to appoint a guardian to act on the owner's behalf. A will only takes effect after a person passes away, so it does not help if the owner becomes incapacitated.

Joint Tenancy

Joint tenancy is a form of property co-ownership where two or more individuals each hold an equal and undivided share in the entire property. This arrangement allows each joint tenant full possession rights to the whole property, even though they technically own a portion of it.

To establish a joint tenancy, all co-owners must acquire their interest simultaneously, through the same document (like a deed or will), and in equal shares. A key feature of joint tenancy is the right of survivorship: when one joint tenant passes away, their share automatically transfers to the surviving co-owners.

For this arrangement to be legally binding, the document must clearly state joint tenants or joint tenancy or otherwise indicate the intent to include a right of survivorship.

Tenancy by Entirety

Tenancy by entirety is a special type of joint tenancy for married couples. In Maryland, when a married couple buys the property together, they are automatically assumed to hold it as tenants by the entirety unless the deed specifies otherwise.

However, if a couple is already co-owning property as joint tenants before marriage, their ownership won't automatically convert to tenancy in entirety. They need to update the deed to reflect this change.

If the couple later divorces, tenancy by entirety ends by law, and the property ownership converts to tenancy in common, removing the right of survivorship.

In a tenancy by entirety, the married couple holds a single, shared interest in the property, meaning one spouse cannot sell or transfer ownership without the other's consent.

Furthermore, if only one spouse has a debt, creditors cannot force a sale of the property to settle that debt since the property shields against the debts of an individual spouse.

Tenancy in Common

Tenancy in common differs from joint tenancy in that each co-owner holds a separate, divisible share of the property without any right of survivorship. This means that when a tenant in common passes away, someone else can inherit their share instead of it automatically transferring to the other co-owners.

In a tenancy in common, shares are usually equal unless otherwise specified in the deed. By default, property given to two or more unmarried people is a tenancy in common unless the deed clearly shows intent to form a joint tenancy.

Each tenant in common can sell, mortgage, or will out their share with no need for approval from the co-owners. However, their portion of the property can be subject to liens or judgments if they incur debts.

Trust Ownership

Trust ownership, typically structured as a revocable living trust, involves a legal entity that holds property managed by the trust creator (or a designated trustee) for the benefit of the trust's beneficiaries.

If you become incapacitated, your chosen successor trustee can step in to manage the trust without requiring court involvement, following the instructions laid out in the trust document. Should you recover, you regain control of the trust.

When you pass away, the property within the trust gets distributed as specified, bypassing probate.

Quitclaim Deed

In Maryland, a quitclaim deed is a way to transfer property ownership without any guarantees or warranties regarding the title. The existing owner is known as the transferor or grantor and conveys whatever ownership interest they hold on to the buyer, known as the transferee or grantee.

This means that the grantee does not guarantee a valid title exists or even that there is any ownership interest. The buyer accepts the property "as is", taking on any associated risks with the title.

Because quitclaim deeds put title issues directly on the purchaser, individuals generally avoid using them for property transactions involving fair market value.

Instead, quitclaim deeds become useful in situations with no payment or value exchanged. For example, a property owner may rely on a quitclaim deed to add a spouse to a title. Such a deed also works to gift property ownership to another family member or to put a specific property into a living trust.

General Warranty Deed

A general warranty deed provides a comprehensive guarantee of title when transferring property. Unlike quitclaim deeds, which place all the risk associated with title validity on the purchaser, that risk is kept with the owner themselves when using a General Warranty. The warranty covers all potential issues with the title except for those explicitly excluded in terms of the deed.

When a Maryland deed states the transferor is going to offer a general warrant on the selected real estate, it signifies the transferor's commitment to assume responsibility legally for title issues no matter when they occurred. This type of deed, often referred to simply as a warranty deed, offers significant protection to the buyer against many potential title issues.

Special Warranty Deed

A special warranty deed provides select warranty protection on the title, also known as a special warranty. In this arrangement, the seller accepts responsibility legally for potential title issues they caused, or that they allowed to occur during their ownership. However, this warranty doesn't include issues that were created by previous owners of the property.

When a Maryland deed states the transferor is going to warrant the real estate, it signifies that the transferor is accountable for title issues arising while they owned the real estate. In that case, the transferee assumes any risk for other issues.