What are my rights as a spouse if I quit claim a business to my husband?

Question

I just signed a quitclaim deed 4 days ago without knowing what I was really signing. My husband's family owns a business and recently his dad requested for some of my personal information and demanded that we go into Escrow to sign a quit claim. I wasn't sure what I was signing and I asked so the agent just told me that it was a quitclaim deed and nothing more. When I received my packet after signing I read the deed and realized I was tricked to signing something I was unsure about. My husband has two other brothers whose wife signed but their husbands isa doctor and policeman. They dint work at the business like my husband. I need to know what happens to the business if something happens to my husband, will the deed transfer solely to the two brothers or would it go to the spouse? I am a stay at home mom, and my husband is the only one who brings back the bread and butter. Please help me with this question, I feel very lost and betrayed.

Answer 1

If you live in the US…

It doesn’t sound like they tricked you.  From what you’ve stated, you just signed something without reading it/understanding it first.  There’s a big difference.  It was not their legal responsibility to explain it to you (morally, it would have been the right thing for them to do, but legally is another issue).  It was YOUR responsibility to read it/understand it before you signed it.  So my point is you have no grounds to have it undone on the basis that you were tricked, because you weren’t.

If your husband were to die (and I assume that’s what you mean by ‘if something happens to him’) rather or not his interest in the business would become part of his estate likely depends in part on exactly how the legal documents are worded.  You need to discuss with it an estate attorney.

Answer 2

I guess you understand now that you never let someone talk you into signing anything you don't understand.

It's kind of late, but I would go see a lawyer right away. Tell him exactly what happened, show him all the paper work and explain to you what you signed and what will happen because you signed the papers. If your family has tricked you into signing away your rights to the company without your knowledge, I would ask your lawyer if and what you can do to reverse the damage and find the documents to be illegal because they had you sign the papers without you having full knowledge of what you were doing.

Good luck and I hope you get this mess all straightened out to your advantage. From now on NEVER sign anything you don't fully understand without having a lawyer look over the papers and advise you in what is in your best interests. One other bit of advice. Never totally depend on your husband to support you. What will happen to you and your children if suddenly your husband dies and all income stops? Life can change in a blink of an eye. A smart woman will enjoy the best that life has to offer, but be prepared for the worst.

Answer 3

By no means, is it my intention to add more stress onto your shoulders; However, I'd wonder why it had to be done, at this point in time?  Is there something going on with your spouse, and/or, his family that would require them to need a quit claim deed, from you?  Surely, you do not need to have anything else put on your shoulders - but I think asking questions would be a whole heckuva a lot better than being blind-sided by something in the near future.  After all, isn't a quit claim used to make sure you get nothing, financially or otherwise, if something should occur: i.e., divorce, selling of the business, death, etc.??  I think that would also be high on the list of questions - Why?  From my understanding of quit claim deeds - this does indeed mean that if something happens to your husband, you will get nothing from the business.    That is, unless he has a will that states differently, or his parents decide to do something for you themselves.

Answer 4

I'm assuming that the quit claim deed was signing away your right to any interest in the business. That doesn't mean you aren't entitled to child support or maintenance if the marriage doesn't survive.