Rule Text
A quitclaim deed by a mortgagee to a mortgagor or subsequent owner is sufficient to release the mortgage, unless the mortgagee specifically excepts the mortgage in the deed.
Authority: See 55 Am.Jur.2d Mortgages § 1384 (1971); 46 O.S. § 16; Anchor Stone & Materials Co. v. Pollok, 344 P.2d 559 (Okla. 1959), Garrett v. Reinhart, 169 Okla. 249, 36 P.2d 884 (1934).
Amendment history: /P> History: Adopted as (j.), September 1946, 17 O.B.A.J. 1372 (1946); became 10 on numbering in 1946, id . at 1579 & 1751; became 22 on renumbering in 1948, 19 O.B.A.J. 223, 228 (1948); amended in December 1959, 30 O.B.A.J. 2091, 2092 (1959).
Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)
This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
When a lender gives a quitclaim deed to the person who owns the property (whether that's the original borrower or someone who bought the property later), this deed also cancels out the mortgage. The lender doesn't need to do anything else to release the mortgage.
The only exception is if the lender specifically states in the deed that the mortgage is not being released. If the lender doesn't mention the mortgage at all, the law assumes the mortgage is canceled along with everything else covered in the deed.
This matters if you're buying property or checking who has claims against it. If you find a quitclaim deed from a lender to the property owner, you can generally treat any old mortgage as paid off and canceled, unless the deed itself says otherwise.
