Legal Question in Banking Law in Florida

Assuming that you have changed your name legally, and filed the necessary name change documents at the county:

If you are signing a quit claim deed only to put the property in your married name, then you may file the deed at the county where the property is located.

You can sign the deed as "Mary Sue Smith (formerly known as Mary Sue Jones)". Type these names under the signature line. You should always sign with your current legal name, and when necessary for an explanation, refer to the name you were formerly known by.

Be sure to register the deed in person, to make sure that the county understands that this is not a transfer of property, otherwise, you may end up being charged transfer taxes.

Another way to do this without a deed, is to file an affadavit, with the property address on the document as such:

"RE: 123 Creampuff Lane, Clearwater, FL, tax parcel ID: ________________

Owner of record Mary Sue Smith, is now known as Mary Sue Jones."

This will need to be in recordable form and notarized.

You really don't need to change the name on the deed, in order to protect your interest in the property. If you have proof of your name change, from former married name to new married name, this is all the proof you need to show ownership. Marriage licenses are recorded in the county where the marriage took place.

If/when you sell the property, (or transfer it to a 3rd party), you will have to prove (or sign an affidavit) that you were formerly known as __________, now known as ___________, and that will be typed on the deed that you now sign with your current legal name.

Unless your ownership is being questioned, you don't need to do anything.