Lady Bird Deed Florida

How an enhanced life estate deed works

The owner signs and records a new deed that conveys the property to themselves for life, with the remainder going to named beneficiaries at death. What makes it "enhanced" is a reserved power: the owner keeps the right to sell, give away, mortgage or lease the property, and to revoke or change the beneficiaries, all without the beneficiaries' signature or consent.

During the owner's life, the beneficiaries have no usable interest. They can't block a sale, their creditors generally can't reach the property, and the owner can name someone else at any time by recording a new deed.

At death, the property passes to the beneficiaries outside of probate. Typically they record a death certificate, and the title company can then insure a sale or refinance, subject to its own requirements.

Florida is one of a small number of states that recognize this kind of deed. The name comes from an early example used to explain it, not from any statute.

What the owner keeps

• Homestead exemption and the 3% cap. Because the owner keeps a life estate and lives there, the homestead exemption, up to $51,411 off assessed value in 2026, and the Save Our Homes cap continue. Recording a lady bird deed is not treated as a change of ownership that resets the assessment.
• Control. The owner can sell the home, mortgage it, or change the plan, without asking anyone.
• Tax basis treatment. Because the owner keeps control until death, the property is generally included in their estate for federal tax purposes, which typically means beneficiaries receive a stepped-up basis. That can sharply reduce capital gains tax if they sell. Zillow shows Florida values up 18.6% over five years, so the difference can be meaningful even on a recently bought home.
• Low recording cost. A short deed recorded with the county clerk, prepared by an attorney.

Where it can go wrong

The deed is simple, and simple tools have limits:

• Florida homestead restrictions on devise. Florida's constitution limits how a homestead can be passed when the owner is survived by a spouse or a minor child. A lady bird deed naming someone other than a spouse, made without the spouse joining or waiving homestead rights, can be challenged. Married owners should have both spouses sign or get advice.
• Incapacity. A lady bird deed doesn't help if the owner becomes unable to manage affairs. A durable power of attorney that specifically covers real estate is still needed.
• Multiple beneficiaries. Naming several children makes them co-owners at death. If they disagree about selling, the property can get stuck.
• A beneficiary dies first. If the deed doesn't name contingent beneficiaries, that share may end up in probate after all.
• Title insurer requirements. Most Florida title insurers accept enhanced life estate deeds, but poorly drafted ones cause delays when beneficiaries sell.
• Mortgage and insurance. Talk to the lender about due-on-sale concerns, and to the insurer about how the policy is titled.

Lady bird deed vs. revocable living trust

Both avoid probate on the home. The differences decide which fits:

• Scope: a lady bird deed covers one property. A trust can hold the home, accounts, other real estate and personal property under one plan.
• Incapacity: a trust names a successor trustee who can manage the home if the owner can't. A lady bird deed doesn't.
• Complex instructions: a trust can hold the home for a minor, a beneficiary with special needs, or someone who shouldn't receive property outright, and can stagger distributions. A lady bird deed passes the property directly.
• Cost and effort: a lady bird deed is typically cheaper and faster to set up. A trust needs drafting, funding (retitling assets into it) and upkeep.
• Homestead: both can preserve the homestead exemption when set up correctly.

Many people use both: a trust for the overall plan, with the home in the trust, or a lady bird deed when the home is the main asset and the plan is simple.

Setting one up, step by step

• Pull your current deed. The new deed must use the exact legal description and show how you hold title now, for example individually or as a married couple.
• Decide on beneficiaries and backups. Name primary beneficiaries and contingent ones, and decide what happens to a share if a beneficiary dies before you.
• Have a Florida attorney draft it. The reserved powers language is what makes the deed work, and form deeds sometimes get it wrong.
• Sign with formalities. Florida deeds need two witnesses and a notary.
• Record it with the clerk in the county where the property sits, and ask the attorney to confirm any documentary stamp tax due, especially if the home has a mortgage.
• Tell the property appraiser if asked, and keep your homestead in place.

Store a copy with your other estate documents and tell your beneficiaries where it is.

Medicaid and long-term care planning

Lady bird deeds are commonly used by Florida elder law attorneys in Medicaid planning. Because the owner keeps control, recording the deed generally isn't treated as a gift for Medicaid eligibility, and because the home passes outside probate, it may avoid estate recovery claims that target the probate estate.

Medicaid rules are detailed and change. If long-term care is a concern, have an elder law attorney design the plan rather than relying on a form deed.

Buying a home and using a lady bird deed

For buyers, this comes up in two ways.

First, when you buy a home you can take title in your own name at closing and record a lady bird deed later, or ask your attorney about taking title in that form at closing. Coordinate with your lender, since some lenders prefer title to stay simple during the loan process. Make sure the homestead application lists you correctly.

Second, when you buy from beneficiaries who inherited through a lady bird deed, the title company will want the recorded deed, a death certificate, and proof that all named beneficiaries sign. If one beneficiary is missing or disagrees, the sale can stall. I ask for that paperwork early when a listing is an inherited property.

This isn't legal or tax advice. A Florida estate planning attorney should draft the deed; a mistake in the wording can defeat its purpose. If you're buying a home with your estate plan in mind, a shortlist and a referral to a local attorney are both easy to arrange.