Real Estate · Pittsburgh

How to Add Someone to a Deed in Pennsylvania

---

Adding someone to a deed in Pennsylvania is permanent once recorded. A deed that adds the wrong person or uses the wrong vesting is easy to execute and hard to fix. Pennsylvania title problems follow the property, not the person who caused them.

This page covers the deed types used to add a name in Pennsylvania, the transfer tax implications, how ownership is vested when a second person is added, and the common mistakes that create title problems later. For the reverse process, see our page on how to remove someone from a deed in Pennsylvania. For real estate transactions generally, see our real estate practice area.

Lebovitz & Lebovitz, P.A. · Serving Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania since 1933. Based in Swissvale near the Parkway East (Swissvale–Edgewood exit).

---

Why People Add Someone to a Deed in Pennsylvania

The most common reasons are estate planning and family transfers. A parent wants to add a child to the deed so the property passes without probate. Spouses who took title in one name want to add the other. Someone who purchased property before marriage wants to add their spouse after the wedding. A property owner wants a sibling or other family member to have an ownership interest.

Adding a child to avoid probate is a common strategy, but it comes with real risks: the child becomes a co-owner immediately, their creditors can potentially reach the property, and the parent loses the ability to sell or refinance without the child’s consent. A transfer between spouses has different transfer tax treatment than a transfer to a child. A transfer for estate planning purposes may have Medicaid look-back consequences that a transfer to a spouse typically does not. Understanding the goal before executing the deed determines whether the strategy achieves what the owner intends.

---

What Type of Deed Is Used to Add a Name in Pennsylvania

The most common deed used to add a co-owner in Pennsylvania is a quitclaim deed. A quitclaim deed transfers whatever interest the grantor has in the property to the grantee without any warranty of title. It is simple, inexpensive to prepare, and appropriate when the parties know each other and title issues are not a concern.

A general warranty deed or special warranty deed can also be used and provides the new co-owner with title warranties: the grantor is promising that title is good and that they will defend against any claims. For transfers between family members, quitclaim deeds are typically sufficient. For transfers where the new co-owner wants the protection of title warranties, a warranty deed is the appropriate instrument.

The deed must identify the grantor and grantee by full legal name, describe the property by its legal description (not just the street address), specify the consideration, and state how the new co-owners will hold title. It must be signed by the grantor in the presence of a notary. It must then be recorded with the Recorder of Deeds in the county where the property is located. In Allegheny County, that is the Recorder of Deeds office at the County Office Building in Pittsburgh.

---

Transfer Tax and Available Exemptions

Pennsylvania imposes a realty transfer tax on the transfer of real estate. In most of Allegheny County, the combined state and local transfer tax rate is approximately 4% of the value of the interest being transferred. Adding someone to a deed is a transfer of an ownership interest and is subject to this tax unless an exemption applies.

The most significant exemption for personal transfers is the family exemption. Pennsylvania exempts transfers between certain family members from transfer tax, including transfers between spouses and transfers between parents and children. If you are adding a spouse or a lineal descendant to the deed, the transfer may qualify for this exemption and no transfer tax would be due.

The exemption does not apply to all family transfers. Transfers to siblings, in-laws, or other relatives who are not lineal descendants or spouses are generally taxable. When the transfer tax exemption is not available, the tax is calculated on the value of the interest being conveyed, not the full value of the property. If a parent is adding one child to the deed and conveying a 50% interest, the transfer tax applies to the value of that 50% interest.

---

Joint Tenancy and Tenancy in Common in Pennsylvania

The vesting language in the deed determines what happens to the property when one co-owner dies. This is one of the most consequential decisions in the deed and one of the most commonly overlooked.

Joint tenancy with right of survivorship means that when one co-owner dies, the surviving co-owner automatically inherits the deceased co-owner’s interest. The property passes outside of probate. This is the vesting most commonly chosen when adding a spouse, and it is often the goal when adding a child for estate planning purposes.

Tenancy in common means that each co-owner holds a separate, divisible interest in the property. When one co-owner dies, their interest passes through their estate according to their will or by intestate succession. It does not automatically pass to the surviving co-owner. If a parent adds a child as a tenant in common and the parent dies, the child’s share passes as the parent directs in their will, which may or may not go to the co-owner child.

---

Tenancy by the Entireties for Married Couples

Tenancy by the entireties is available only to married couples in Pennsylvania and provides the strongest protection: neither spouse can transfer or encumber their interest without the other’s consent, and the property is generally protected from the individual debts of either spouse. This is typically the preferred vesting for married couples in Pennsylvania.

---

Adding a Spouse to a Deed in Pennsylvania

Transfers between spouses qualify for the Pennsylvania transfer tax exemption. A spouse can be added to a deed without incurring transfer tax, and the deed should specify tenancy by the entireties as the vesting unless there is a specific reason to choose otherwise.

If there is a mortgage on the property, the lender should be notified before the deed is recorded. Most mortgages contain a due-on-sale clause that technically triggers when ownership is transferred. In practice, lenders rarely call a loan due when a spouse is added, but notification is prudent. If the lender requires the new co-owner to be added to the mortgage or to sign a consent, that step should be completed before or concurrent with recording the deed.

---

Adding a Child or Family Member to a Deed in Pennsylvania

Adding a child to a deed is a common estate planning technique, but it is not always the right one. The transfer is immediate and irrevocable. Once the child is on the deed as a co-owner, the parent cannot unilaterally sell the property, refinance it, or remove the child from title without the child’s consent.

The Medicaid look-back period is a significant concern. If the parent anticipates needing Medicaid-funded long-term care within five years of the transfer, the transfer may be treated as a disqualifying gift and result in a period of Medicaid ineligibility. This is one of the most common and costly mistakes in this area, and it happens because the transfer looks simple from the outside.

There are also capital gains tax consequences to consider. When a child inherits property at death, the tax basis is stepped up to the fair market value at the date of death, which eliminates capital gains on appreciation that occurred during the parent’s lifetime. When a child receives a gift of an ownership interest during the parent’s lifetime, they receive the parent’s original tax basis. If the property has appreciated significantly, the child who inherits pays no capital gains. The child who received a lifetime gift may pay substantial capital gains when the property is eventually sold.

---

Common Mistakes That Create Title Problems Later

The deed itself is a short document. The mistakes that matter are rarely typographical. They are structural: the wrong vesting, the wrong consideration, a missing signature, or a deed that was never recorded.

The wrong vesting language is the most consequential mistake. A deed that says “John Smith and Mary Smith” without specifying the tenancy defaults to tenancy in common in Pennsylvania, not joint tenancy with right of survivorship. If the goal was survivorship, the property will not pass as intended at death. The fix requires a corrective deed, which requires both parties to cooperate at a future date when cooperation may not be available.

A deed recorded without lender notification can trigger a technical default even if the lender never acts on it. The lender’s consent should be confirmed before recording. A street address instead of the legal description in the deed creates a title defect that must be corrected before the property can be sold or refinanced. Recording the deed in the wrong county is rare but happens when properties are near county lines.

---

Stephen H. Lebovitz is a real estate attorney at Lebovitz & Lebovitz, P.A. in Swissvale, Pennsylvania, handling deed preparation, title transfers, and real estate transactions throughout Allegheny County.