Florida lady bird deed
A lady bird deed lets you name who inherits your Florida property without probate, while you keep full ownership and the right to change your mind. Here is exactly what Florida requires, what it costs, and where to file it.
- Recording office
- Clerk of the Circuit Court
- Witnesses
- 2 + notary
- Transfer tax
- $0.70 per $100 of consideration
- First-page margin
- 3″ top
- Recording fee
- ~$10 first page
- E-recording
- Generally available
What a lady bird deed does in Florida
A lady bird deed, formally an enhanced life estate deed, reserves a life estate for you while keeping the power to sell, mortgage, lease, or take the property back without your remainder beneficiary's signature. That retained power is what makes it 'enhanced'. At your death the property passes directly to the remainder beneficiaries outside probate. Florida, Texas, Michigan, Vermont, and West Virginia recognize it.
Formally an enhanced life estate deed. Florida is the deed's home state. Lady bird deeds are widely used, do not trigger reassessment, preserve the homestead exemption, and are not treated as a transfer for Medicaid purposes.
When Florida homeowners use a lady bird deed
- Avoid probate while keeping complete control of the house
- Preserve the Florida or Texas homestead exemption and the step-up in basis
- Estate planning where a traditional life estate would give away too much control
- Medicaid planning in a state that does not treat the transfer as a divestment
What Florida requires on the deed
These are the execution and formatting rules circuit court clerks enforce. Getting any of them wrong is the usual reason a deed comes back in the mail.
| Requirement | What Florida says |
|---|---|
| Recording office | Clerk of the Circuit Court |
| Notarization | Required. Every signature must be made in the notary's presence. |
| Witnesses | 2 witnesses in addition to the notary. |
| Legal description | Required, copied exactly from the prior recorded deed. A street address is not sufficient. |
| Grantee's address | Must appear on the face of the deed. |
| Return address | A 'when recorded, return to' block is required. |
| Preparer statement | Not required, but customary. |
| Prior deed reference | Not required, though it keeps the chain of title clean. |
| Page setup | 8.5 × 11 in, 3-inch top margin on the first page, 1-inch elsewhere, 10pt minimum type. |
| Timing | Must be recorded before the owner's death. Recording it afterwards has no effect. |
Florida requires 2 witnesses
Florida requires two subscribing witnesses to the grantor's signature on a deed conveying an interest in real property (Fla. Stat. § 689.01). The notary may serve as one of the two witnesses, but a second, separate witness is still required.
A spouse may have to sign even if they are not an owner
Both spouses must join in a conveyance or mortgage of homestead property, even if only one spouse is on the title (Fla. Const. art. X, § 4(c)).
How to complete and record it in Florida
- Find your current deedYou need the legal description from it, word for word. If you can't find your copy, the Clerk of the Circuit Court can provide one, usually for a few dollars.
- Identify everyone by full legal nameNames must match the current deed and government ID exactly, middle names included. A mismatch creates a gap in the chain of title that shows up years later at closing.
- Complete the deedDeedly builds it with Florida's statutory language, the correct notary block, and the 3-inch first-page margin circuit court clerks expect.
- Sign in front of a notaryBring photo ID and 2 witnesses. Do not sign in advance. Every signature has to be made in the notary's presence.
- Record it with the Clerk of the Circuit CourtFile in the county where the property is located and pay the recording fee. Most offices in this state also accept e-recording, which is usually same-day. Keep the stamped receipt. It fixes your priority date.
- Tell your beneficiaries where it isAfter your death they will need the recorded document plus a certified death certificate, and in most states an affidavit of death, to complete the transfer.
What it costs in Florida
| Cost | Typical amount |
|---|---|
| Recording fee | About $10 for the first page plus about $8.50 per additional page |
| Transfer tax | Documentary stamp tax: $0.70 per $100 of consideration ($0.60 per $100 in Miami-Dade County, plus a $0.45 surtax on non-single-family property) |
| Notary | Typically $5–$25 per signature; often free at your bank |
| Deedly | $69, one time |
| Attorney (for comparison) | $300–$1,200 for the same statutory document |
Florida charges a documentary stamp tax of $0.70 per $100 of consideration ($0.60 per $100 in Miami-Dade County, plus a $0.45 surtax on non-single-family property). It is customarily paid by the grantor. Cities and counties may add their own on top, so check the municipality rather than just the county.
Exemptions that commonly apply to a transfer like this: a gift of unencumbered property with no consideration (minimum $0.70 tax still applies) and transfers between spouses of a marital home within one year of dissolution of marriage. You have to claim the exemption. The recorder won't apply it for you.
Where to record it in Florida
Florida deeds are recorded with the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the county where the property sits, not where you live. There are 67 counties in Florida.
Most Florida recording offices accept e-recording through vendors such as Simplifile, CSC, or ePN, which is usually same-day. Check your county's website for the list it works with.
Recording offices we cover in Florida: Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Hillsborough, Orange, Duval, Pinellas, Lee, Polk, Brevard, Pasco, Volusia. See all Florida recording offices.
What a lady bird deed does NOT do
Being honest about the limits is more useful than a sales pitch. Every one of these catches somebody out.
- Only Florida, Texas, Michigan, Vermont, and West Virginia are generally recognized as accepting it. Some counties elsewhere will record it, but recording is not the same as validity.
- It does not defeat Medicaid estate recovery in every state, and the rules change. Confirm your state's current position before relying on it.
- It does not remove or restructure a mortgage, and a due-on-sale clause may still exist in theory even though lenders rarely invoke it for these transfers.
- It is a specialized instrument. If your estate is large, taxable, or contested, this is a conversation for an attorney rather than a form.
Quirks of Florida law that catch people out
- Florida requires TWO witnesses to the grantor's signature in addition to the notary. This is the single most common reason a Florida DIY deed gets rejected. The notary can be one of the two witnesses, but you still need a second person.
- Florida homestead law requires BOTH spouses to sign a conveyance of a homestead property, even when only one spouse's name is on the deed.
- Documentary stamp tax applies to any mortgage balance the grantee takes subject to. A $0 sale price does not mean $0 tax if there is a loan on the property.
- Leave a 3-inch by 3-inch blank block at the top right of page one. Florida clerks stamp there and will reject deeds that fill it.
- Florida does not have transfer-on-death deeds. The lady bird deed is Florida's probate-avoidance instrument, and it works extremely well here.
$69, one time. Your finished deed appears in full before you pay, with Florida's witness rules, margins, and recording instructions already applied.
Common questions
No. Florida has no requirement that an attorney prepare a deed. What matters is the correct statutory language, an accurate legal description, proper notarization and 2 witnesses, and recording with the Clerk of the Circuit Court. Deedly produces all of that for $69, versus roughly $300–$1,200 for an attorney to draft the same document. If ownership is disputed, the current owner has died without probate, or the transfer is tax-sensitive, use an attorney.
Expect around $10 for the first page and about $8.50 per additional page. Florida also charges documentary stamp tax of $0.70 per $100 of consideration ($0.60 per $100 in Miami-Dade County, plus a $0.45 surtax on non-single-family property), though gifts and family transfers are often exempt. Typical figure. Counties set their own fees. Confirm with your recorder before mailing.
Yes. Florida requires two subscribing witnesses to the grantor's signature on a deed conveying an interest in real property (Fla. Stat. § 689.01). The notary may serve as one of the two witnesses, but a second, separate witness is still required.
With the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the county where the property is located, not where you live, and not where the buyer lives. Florida has 67 counties. Most offices also accept e-recording through a submitting service.
Yes. Lady bird deeds are revocable during your lifetime. You can record a revocation, record a new one naming different beneficiaries, or simply sell the property. You don't need your beneficiary's permission for any of it.
Yes, for this property. On death the property passes directly to the people you named, outside probate, once they record proof of death with the Clerk of the Circuit Court. It doesn't avoid probate for anything else you own, it doesn't clear the mortgage, and it doesn't protect the property from your creditors.
Often, yes. Both spouses must join in a conveyance or mortgage of homestead property, even if only one spouse is on the title (Fla. Const. art. X, § 4(c)). That surprises people, because the spouse is not becoming an owner. They are releasing rights the law gives them automatically. Deedly adds a joinder block for the signature when it applies.
Keep reading
- Florida quitclaim deedTransfers whatever interest you have in a property, with no promises about the title.
- Florida general warranty deedTransfers ownership with the strongest title guarantees the law allows.
- Florida special warranty deedTransfers ownership, but only guarantees the title for the period you owned it.
- Florida life estate deedYou keep the right to live in the property for life; named remaindermen own it after you.
- All deed rules for FloridaRecording offices, transfer tax, witness rules, and fees.
- Florida recording officesWhere to file in each county.
Deedly is not a law firm
We provide self-help software and state-specific statutory forms; you make your own decisions about your property. Using Deedly does not create an attorney-client relationship, and nothing here is legal advice. If your situation is complex or contested, talk to a licensed attorney in your state.