The documents are still valid for the purpose intended by them...the Quit Claim Deed is still a contract to convey whatever interest the Grantor had in the property and the Deed of Trust would still be a valid document between parties that something was going to be held in Trust until whatever was agreed to happen has happened. The problem with unrecorded documents is that they do not provide notice to others of their existence. The law in Washington gives a presumption to whoever files a document first...So, if you have held a Deed for ten years but never recorded it, and then the same Grantor gives a deed to someone else for that piece of property and they go down to the county and record it- under the law, the presumption is that they own the property instead of you. But, in answer to your original question: Yes, a court would recognize documents that have not been recorded, but there might be issues about them being authenticated, about them meeting all the statutory requirements, etc. You are certainly - in most cases- better off recording documents.
