Santa Barbara County Gift Deed Form (California)
All Santa Barbara County specific forms and documents listed below are included in your immediate download package:
Gift Deed Form
Fill in the blank form formatted to comply with all recording and content requirements.
Included Santa Barbara County compliant document last validated/updated 11/6/2024
Gift Deed Guide
Line by line guide explaining every blank on the form.
Included Santa Barbara County compliant document last validated/updated 10/25/2024
Completed Example of the Gift Deed Document
Example of a properly completed form for reference.
Included Santa Barbara County compliant document last validated/updated 11/13/2024
The following California and Santa Barbara County supplemental forms are included as a courtesy with your order:
When using these Gift Deed forms, the subject real estate must be physically located in Santa Barbara County. The executed documents should then be recorded in one of the following offices:
Lompoc
401 E. Cypress St, Room 102, Lompoc, California 93436
Hours: Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 9:00am - 12:00 & 1:00 - 4:00pm
Phone: (805) 737-7705
Santa Maria
511 E. Lakeside Parkway, Suite 115 , Santa Maria, California 93455-1341
Hours: Monday through Friday 8:00 am to 4:30 pm
Phone: (805) 346-8370
Hall of Records & Mailing Address
1100 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, California 93101
Hours: Monday through Friday 8:00 am to 4:30 pm
Phone: (805) 568-2250
Local jurisdictions located in Santa Barbara County include:
- Buellton
- Carpinteria
- Casmalia
- Goleta
- Guadalupe
- Lompoc
- Los Alamos
- Los Olivos
- New Cuyama
- Santa Barbara
- Santa Maria
- Santa Ynez
- Solvang
- Summerland
How long does it take to get my forms?
Forms are available immediately after submitting payment.
How do I get my forms, are they emailed?
Immediately after you submit payment, the Santa Barbara County forms you order will be available for download directly from your account. You can then download the forms to your computer. If you do not already have an account, one will be created for you as part of the order process, and your login details will be provided to you. If you encounter any issues accessing your forms, please reach out to our support team for assistance. Forms are NOT emailed to you.
What does "validated/updated" mean?
This indicates the most recent date when at least one of the following occurred:
- Updated: The document was updated or changed to remain compliant.
- Validated: The document was examined by an attorney or staff, or it was successfully recorded in Santa Barbara County using our eRecording service.
Are these forms guaranteed to be recordable in Santa Barbara County?
Yes. Our form blanks are guaranteed to meet or exceed all formatting requirements set forth by Santa Barbara County including margin requirements, content requirements, font and font size requirements.
Can the Gift Deed forms be re-used?
Yes. You can re-use the forms for your personal use. For example, if you have more than one property in Santa Barbara County that you need to transfer you would only need to order our forms once for all of your properties in Santa Barbara County.
What are supplemental forms?
Often when a deed is recorded, additional documents are required by California or Santa Barbara County. These could be tax related, informational, or even as simple as a coversheet. Supplemental forms are provided for free with your order where available.
What type of files are the forms?
All of our Santa Barbara County Gift Deed forms are PDFs. You will need to have or get Adobe Reader to use our forms. Adobe Reader is free software that most computers already have installed.
Do I need any special software to use these forms?
You will need to have Adobe Reader installed on your computer to use our forms. Adobe Reader is free software that most computers already have installed.
Do I have to enter all of my property information online?
No. The blank forms are downloaded to your computer and you fill them out there, at your convenience.
Can I save the completed form, email it to someone?
Yes, you can save your deed form at any point with your information in it. The forms can also be emailed, blank or complete, as attachments.
Are there any recurring fees involved?
No. Nothing to cancel, no memberships, no recurring fees.
Gifts of Real Property in California
Gift deeds convey title to real property from one party to another with no exchange of consideration, monetary or otherwise. Often used to transfer property between family members or to gift property as a charitable act or donation, these conveyances occur during the grantor's lifetime. Gift deeds must contain language that explicitly states that no consideration is expected or required. Ambiguous language, or references to any type of consideration, can make the gift deed contestable in court.
A lawful gift deed includes the grantor's full name and marital status, as well as the grantee's full name, marital status, vesting, and mailing address. Vesting describes how the grantee holds title to the property. Generally, real property is owned in either sole ownership or in co-ownership. For California residential property, the primary methods for holding title in co-ownership are tenancy in common, joint tenancy, and community property (Cal. Civ. Code 682). An estate conveyed to two or more unmarried people is considered a tenancy in common, unless a joint tenancy is designated (Cal. Civ. Code 683). Spouses vest as community property, with an option for survivorship rights (Cal. Civ. Code 682.1).
As with any conveyance of realty, a gift deed requires a complete legal description of the parcel. Recite the source of title to establish a clear chain of title, and detail any restrictions associated with the property. Each grantor must sign the deed in the presence of a notary public for a valid transfer. All signatures must be original. In California, when real property is conveyed as a gift, no transfer tax is due, pursuant to Cal. R&T Code 11930. This exemption should be indicated on the first page of the instrument. Record the completed deed, along with any additional materials, in the clerk's office of the county where the property is located. Contact the same office to verify accepted forms of payment.
In California, every legal transfer of real property requires a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report. This form should be completed by the grantee and filed with the instrument (Cal. R&T Code 480.3).
With gifts of real property, the recipient of the gift (grantee or donee) is not required to declare the amount of the gift as income, but if the property accrues income after the transaction, the grantee is responsible for paying the requisite state and federal income tax [1].
In California, there is no state gift tax. For questions regarding state taxation laws, consult a tax specialist. Gifts of real property in California are, however, subject to the federal gift tax. The person or entity making the gift (grantor or donor) is responsible for paying the federal gift tax; however, if the donor does not pay the gift tax, the donee will be held liable [1].
In accordance with federal law, individuals are permitted an annual exclusion of $15,000 on gifts. This means that if a gift is valued below $15,000, a federal gift tax return (Form 709) does not need to be filed. However, if the gift is something that could possibly be disputed by the IRS -- such as real property -- a donor may benefit from filing a Form 709 [2].
This article is provided for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Contact a California lawyer with any questions about gift deeds or other issues related to the transfer of real property.
[1] http://msuextension.org/publications/FamilyFinancialManagement/MT199105HR.pdf
[2] https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/frequently-asked-questions-on-gift-taxes
(California Gift Deed Package includes form, guidelines, and completed example)
Our Promise
The documents you receive here will meet, or exceed, the Santa Barbara County recording requirements for formatting. If there's an issue caused by our formatting, we'll make it right and refund your payment.
Save Time and Money
Get your Santa Barbara County Gift Deed form done right the first time with Deeds.com Uniform Conveyancing Blanks. At Deeds.com, we understand that your time and money are valuable resources, and we don't want you to face a penalty fee or rejection imposed by a county recorder for submitting nonstandard documents. We constantly review and update our forms to meet rapidly changing state and county recording requirements for roughly 3,500 counties and local jurisdictions.
4.8 out of 5 - ( 4434 Reviews )
James S.
November 21st, 2024
Forms used, created quitclaim deed that the county accepted without a second look (turns out they see deeds.com forms regularly via erecording and in person). Will be back for any real estate related forms I need and they carry. Will always be my first stop. Also, will use erecording next time, mad I didn't see it this time.
Thanks for the kind words James, glad we could help. Look forward to seeing you again.
Thomas G.
November 21st, 2024
Wasn’t what I expected
Sorry to hear that your expectations were missed. Your order has been canceled. We do hope that you find something more suitable to your expectations elsewhere. Do keep in mind that purchasing legal forms should not be an exploratory endeavor.
Jimmy P.
November 20th, 2024
They sent me everything I would need to do this. Easy purchase -Easy download. Great!! I'll be back here for all my document needs.
We appreciate your business and value your feedback. Thank you. Have a wonderful day!
BARBARA T.
July 16th, 2019
Love this site! So easy to use and very economical
Thank you!
Ondina S.
December 28th, 2021
Am very happy with the wealth of forms that were available with my purchase! This site is an awesome resource which I plan to use in the future.
We appreciate your business and value your feedback. Thank you. Have a wonderful day!
Connie E.
December 25th, 2018
Great service! Easy to download and view. Florida should have the Revocable Transfer on Death (TOD)deed, that many other States have. That's the one I really wanted. This one will do in the meantime.
We appreciate your business and value your feedback. Thank you. Have a wonderful day!
AARON D.
July 26th, 2024
Forms were great ! Cancelled my lawyer's appointment & utilized your forms.rn
We are grateful for your feedback and looking forward to serving you again. Thank you!
nancy h.
April 10th, 2019
Once I figured out what I wanted it was great!
Thank you Nancy.
Richard S.
August 13th, 2020
Not user friendly, and not an Adobe fan. The first page of Quitclaim Deed form cuts off the Parcel Identification line on the bottom. Also quite a few forms showed up to be downloaded , after I paid, so I was unsure if all the forms were part of the quitclaim package. I have adobe but was unable to locate the forms in adobe on my computer after I downloaded them. Just wanted to print out one quitclaim deed form, which would have taken less that 3 minutes. instead it took 97 minutes. Thank you, though, for having the form there.
Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it. Have a great day!
Charles C.
January 30th, 2019
Using an I pad and cannot type on form that was downloaded. I do not have a computer
Charles
Thank you for your feedback Charles. You might want to make sure you have the Adobe app on your Ipad: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/adobe-fill-sign/id950099951?mt=8
DONNA F.
June 7th, 2019
very easy and fast
thank you
would recommend
We appreciate your business and value your feedback. Thank you. Have a wonderful day!
Daniel L.
February 11th, 2022
You could make instructions clearer on the download process and when download is complete. You could also group things together for 1 or 2 "big" downloads.
Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it. Have a great day!
Larry L.
July 12th, 2022
Great product, worked as it advertised.
Thank you!
Judith H.
May 22nd, 2023
This site was so easy. Got my documents in minutes. downloaded and they work perfectly and accurately.
I LOVE THIS SITE AND COMPANY!!!
Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it. Have a great day!
Stephen U.
December 5th, 2020
This is another great deal that has come out of the quarantine for covid. Saved me hours and days of time. and provides a way to file deeds that really isn't done effectively anyway else. It was also very inexpensive that you would not expect. I didn't even have to leave home.
Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it. Have a great day!