Deeds in Pennsylvania

Types of Deeds

National Type	Local Name	Primary Use	Source of Form
General Warranty Deed	General Warranty Deed	[rarely used]	Common Law
Special Warranty Deed	Special Warranty Deed	(1) Commercial (2) Residential	Common Law
Fiduciary Warranty Deed	Fiduciary Warranty Deed	(1) Estates	Common Law
Bargain and Sale Deed	N/A	N/A	N/A
Quit-Claim Deed	Quit-Claim Deed	(1) Railroads (2) Utilities (2) Estoppels	Common Law
Foreclosure Deed	Sheriff's Deed	(1) Mortgage Foreclosures (2) Judgment Executions	Common Law (Deed Poll)
Other	Statutory Short Form	[rarely used]	21 P.S. § 1

• NOTE: The Statutory Short Form of Deed is almost never used. It can be changed into any type of common Deed above simply by changing the Warranty language. In conjunction with this Statutory Short Form Deed were statutes permitting the substitution of Common Law warranty language with shorter phrases contained in the statutes. These are occasionally used, but are still not as common as the Common Law forms of warranties.

Execution of Deeds

Witnesses	Grantor	Not required, but blanks for witness are customarily included in most deeds.
	Grantee	N/A.
Marital Status	Grantor	Not required, but customarily included.
	Grantee	Not required, but customarily included.
Marital Rights	Common Law Dower	Abolished.
	Common Law Curtesy	Abolished.
	Statutory Dower	N/A.
	Community Property	N/A.
	Homestead	N/A.
	Equitable Distribution	A non-titled spouse is normally not required to sign any deed. In the event of a pending divorce between the titled and non-titled spouse, the non-titled spouse must join in the conveyance to waive any claim to the potential equity in the property.

Ladybird Deeds

Ladybird deeds do not appear to be in use in Pennsylvania as such.

However, some deeds may contain language where the grantee holds property "in trust" for certain beneficiaries until death, but the grantee/trustee retains certain rights, such as the ability to sell and/or mortgage the property, without joinder of the beneficiaries. Often the grantor and grantee/trustee will be the same person. Such deeds and language should be examined carefully, and do not always rely on or incorporate a separate Trust-creating document. Further, such deeds would not avoid inheritance taxes when the grantee/trustee dies.

Transfer on Death Deeds (Beneficiary Deeds)

Transfer on death deeds do not appear to be authorized in Pennsylvania.

However, some deeds may contain language where the grantee holds property "in trust" for certain beneficiaries until death, but the grantee/trustee retains certain rights, such as the ability to sell and/or mortgage the property, without joinder of the beneficiaries. Often the grantor and grantee/trustee will be the same person. Such deeds and language should be examined carefully, and do not always rely on or incorporate a separate Trust-creating document. Further, such deeds would not avoid inheritance taxes when the grantee/trustee dies.

Deeds to Non-Existent Grantees

A deed that purports to convey real estate to a nonexistent entity has no effect. In re Est. of Rodgers, No. 825 WDA 2012, 2013 WL 11255544 (Pa. Super. Ct. Aug. 21, 2013) (unreported) (Limited Partnership); Lester Assocs. v. Com., 816 A.2d 394 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2003) (LLC); Borough of Elizabeth v. Aim Sher Corp., 316 Pa. Super. 97, 462 A.2d 811 (Pa. 1983) (Corporation).