After the grantor and grantee have both signed the quit claim deed in front of the notary do we have to take that document to get it recorded?

It depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If you are worried about estate taxes, don't. There is no estate tax until the grantor's lifetime gifts and net estate at death exceeed $5,340,000. If you are trying to avoid capital gains tax, don't. The first $250,000 of capital gain ($500,000 for a married couple), on sale of a home the grantor has lived in for 2 of the last 5 years, is excluded and free of tax. And the heirs or legatees who receive the property when the Grantor dies, get a stepped-up tax basis and owe no capital gains tax. If the Grantor is trying to get the loan on the property off the Grantor's credit report, so that the Grantor can get a loan to buy something else, a quitclaim deed won't accomplish that, either. If this is a sale of the property, the grantee MUST get title insurance. In order to get title insurance, you MUST use a Grant Deed, not a quitclaim deed. Without title insurance, the grantee does not know whether the Grantor even owns the property. There might be other owners. There might be loans. There might be use restrictions which would prevent the buyer from doing what he plans to. As you can see there are a lot of reasons to NOT use a quitclaim deed. You should talk to a real estate attorney about whether or not you are doin the right thing. In order for the deed to be effective, it must be delivered to the grantee. In order for it to be binding against the world. The grantee must give the grantor something in exchange for it and record it in the official real estate records of the county where the property is located. The county recorder will require a Transfer Tax Affidavit and a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report. These forms are available on the recorder's website. Some counties let you write the transfer tax information on the deed. There will be a recording fee of $20-$50, deprending on the number of pages and how the legal description is written. The county transfer tax is $1.10 per thousand dollars of value. Some cities have city transfer taxes which can be as high as $15.00 per thousand dollars of value. If you appreciate this free advice, please remember to refer me to any friends or acquaintances who need a lawyer. Referrals are still our best source of new business. Do you have a revocable living trust to protect your heirs against probate? Probate takes forever, is expensive, and is annoying. Do your family a favor. Set up a trust, and put all your property, especially any real property, into the trust. Since it is revocable, you can change it, add to it, take property out of it, or even cancel it completely, at any time. We set up such trustsor $1500.00. If you would like to hire me to do this, let me know, and I'll send you a list of the information I need. Dana Sack