Lady Bird Deeds in Florida: How an Enhanced Life Estate Deed Works

A lady bird deed, also called an enhanced life estate deed, is a deed in which a Florida owner keeps the right to live in the property for life, keeps the power to sell or mortgage it, and names who receives it at death. It is designed so the property passes under the deed itself rather than through a will and probate. Florida’s homestead rules, property tax statutes and deed formalities shape how it works.

On this page

• What an enhanced life estate deed is
• Florida homestead rules come first
• Property tax: the homestead exemption and Save Our Homes
• Signing and recording the deed in Florida
• Common situations
• Limits and trade-offs
• How it fits with a will, a trust and a power of attorney
• Frequently asked questions
• Planning for a Florida home
• Related reading

What an enhanced life estate deed is

The deed splits ownership in two. The owner keeps a life estate, the right to live in and use the property for life. The people named in the deed, the remainder beneficiaries, receive the property when the owner dies.

The word “enhanced” refers to a clause reserving the owner’s powers to sell, mortgage, lease or give away the property during life without the remainder beneficiaries signing. The deed is drafted so that a sale or new deed by the owner cuts off the remainder. A traditional life estate deed does not reserve those powers.

Florida homestead rules come first

Article X, section 4(c) of the Florida Constitution (as of October 2026) says the homestead “shall not be subject to devise if the owner is survived by spouse or minor child,” except that it may be devised to the spouse if there is no minor child. Section 732.4015(1), Florida Statutes, restates that rule.

Section 732.4017(1), Florida Statutes, says a lifetime transfer of homestead is not a devise if the owner does not keep a power “to revoke or revest that interest in the transferor.” An enhanced life estate deed keeps the power to sell or take back the property, so that statute’s protection may not reach it. As of October 2026, no Florida statute or appellate decision addresses this kind of deed by name when the owner dies leaving a spouse or minor child. But the Florida Supreme Court treated a similar transfer, where the owner kept the use of the home and the power to redirect it until death, as working like a will (Johns v. Bowden, 68 Fla. 32 (1914)), and Florida’s uniform title standards treat the deed’s remainder as passing only if that does not break the homestead devise limits. If it is treated as a devise, the beneficiaries named in the deed would not take the home to the extent that conflicts with Article X, section 4(c), and the home would pass as s. 732.401 directs.

If a homestead is not devised as the Constitution allows and the owner leaves a spouse and descendants, the spouse takes a life estate and the descendants take the remainder (s. 732.401(1)), unless the spouse elects within 6 months to take an undivided one-half interest as a tenant in common (s. 732.401(2)).

Married owners. Section 4(c) also provides that the owner of homestead, “joined by the spouse if married,” may alienate it by mortgage, sale or gift, so a married owner’s spouse joins in a deed of the homestead. Section 732.7025(1) lets a joining spouse waive the devise restriction in the deed itself, using the statute’s wording or substantially similar language. That waiver covers a spouse’s rights only; it does not address a minor child.

Property tax: the homestead exemption and Save Our Homes

Florida’s homestead exemption goes to a person who has “the legal title or beneficial title in equity” to the property on January 1 and makes it a permanent residence (s. 196.031(1)(a), Florida Statutes, as of October 2026). For the exemption, s. 196.041(1) treats a person residing on property under an estate “limited in time by deed” as holding that title. An owner who keeps a life estate therefore keeps the kind of title the exemption requires.

Save Our Homes limits each year’s increase in assessed value to 3 percent or the change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower (s. 193.155(1)), and resets the assessment to just value on the January 1 after a “change of ownership” (s. 193.155(3)(a)). A deed is not a change of ownership when the same person stays entitled to the exemption and the owner is “listed as both grantor and grantee” with other individuals “additionally named as grantee” (s. 193.155(3)(a)1.c). If an added grantee applies for the exemption, that counts as a change of ownership. How the deed names the parties therefore matters.

After the owner’s death, unless an exception in s. 193.155(3)(a) applies, such as a transfer to a surviving spouse, a transfer by operation of law to a surviving spouse or minor child under s. 732.401, or a transfer to a permanent resident who was legally or naturally dependent on the owner, the beneficiaries’ assessment starts over at just value.

Signing and recording the deed in Florida

• Two witnesses. Section 689.01(1), Florida Statutes (as of October 2026), requires an instrument “signed in the presence of two subscribing witnesses” to transfer an interest in land.
• Acknowledgment. To be recorded, the deed must be acknowledged by the person signing it or proved by a subscribing witness; within Florida, a notary public may take the acknowledgment (s. 695.03(1)).
• Names and addresses. The clerk records the deed only if it shows the printed name and post-office address of each signer, each witness and each grantee, and of the person who prepared it (s. 695.26(1)).
• Recording. An unrecorded deed is not good “against creditors or subsequent purchasers for a valuable consideration and without notice” (s. 695.01(1)). The homestead exemption also requires the deed to be recorded in the official records of the county where the property is located (s. 196.031(1)(a)).

Common situations

• A widowed or single owner with adult children. The devise restriction is triggered by a surviving spouse or minor child (Art. X, s. 4(c), Fla. Const., as of October 2026), so it does not reach an owner who leaves neither.
• A second marriage. When the home is meant for children from an earlier marriage, the spouse’s joinder and the s. 732.7025 waiver language come into play.
• A home with a mortgage. The mortgage may affect the documentary stamp tax (see the tax question below).

Limits and trade-offs

The deed covers only the property it describes. Bank accounts, investments and other real estate need their own plan.

How it fits with a will, a trust and a power of attorney

• Last Will and Testament. A will still matters for property that does not pass under the deed, including the proceeds if the owner sells the home during life.
• Revocable Living Trust. A trust is the other common way to hold a Florida home outside probate. Florida’s homestead rule reaches trusts too: s. 732.4015(2)(b), Florida Statutes (as of October 2026), defines “devise” to include “a disposition by trust” of homestead.
• Durable Power of Attorney. An agent may act on the deed only under authority the power of attorney specifically grants (s. 709.2201(1)), and may sell or mortgage a married principal’s homestead only with the spouse’s joinder (s. 709.2201(2)(b)). Using the deed’s reserved powers to change who receives the property is not named in the statute. It may count as a gift or as a change of a beneficiary designation, and an agent may use either power only if the principal signed or initialed next to it (s. 709.2202(1)(c) and (e)). Unless the power of attorney provides otherwise, a general gift power is limited to the federal annual gift tax exclusion per person each year (s. 709.2202(4)).

Frequently asked questions

What is the downside of a Lady Bird Deed in Florida?

A surviving spouse or minor child can limit who receives a homestead (Art. X, s. 4(c), Fla. Const., as of October 2026), and a married owner’s spouse joins in the deed. The Save Our Homes cap does not pass to the beneficiaries unless an exception in s. 193.155(3)(a) applies. The deed also covers only the property it describes.

Can I write my own Lady Bird Deed in Florida?

Florida’s statutes set the same core formalities for most deeds signed in Florida: two subscribing witnesses (s. 689.01, Florida Statutes, as of October 2026), an acknowledgment for recording (s. 695.03), and the printed names and addresses that s. 695.26 requires, including the preparer’s. The parts that call for legal judgment are the reserved-powers wording and the homestead questions above.

How much should a Lady Bird Deed cost in Florida?

Plan Ahead prepares Florida enhanced life estate deeds and uses flat-fee pricing, explained in a complimentary Peace of Mind Planning Session. Apart from any legal fee, the clerk of the circuit court charges for recording (s. 28.24, Florida Statutes, as of October 2026), and documentary stamp tax may apply.

Do you pay taxes on a Lady Bird Deed in Florida?

Florida’s documentary stamp tax on deeds is 70 cents per $100 of consideration, and consideration includes the amount of any mortgage on the property, “whether or not the underlying indebtedness is assumed” (s. 201.02(1)(a), Florida Statutes, as of October 2026). In Miami-Dade County, the rate is 60 cents per $100, plus a surtax that does not apply to a single-family residence (Rule 12B-4.012, F.A.C., as of October 2026). The Department of Revenue’s rules say “[a] conveyance of unencumbered realty as a gift is not taxable” (Rule 12B-4.014(2)(a), F.A.C.), that a deed reciting a consideration such as “$1 and other valuable consideration” requires at least the minimum tax (Rule 12B-4.014(2)(b), F.A.C.), and that a gift of mortgaged property is generally taxed on the unpaid mortgage balance (Rule 12B-4.013(16), F.A.C.). No Department of Revenue rule addresses enhanced life estate deeds by name. In two 2020 Technical Assistance Advisements, one involving a deed of mortgaged property, the Department concluded that an enhanced life estate deed “does not transfer any present beneficial interests in real property” and is not subject to the tax “regardless of any consideration” (TAA 20B4-003 and TAA 20B4-004, as of October 2026). An advisement has no precedential value except for the taxpayer who asked for it and the transaction it addresses (s. 213.22(1), Florida Statutes), so it is guidance rather than a rule for every deed.

Planning for a Florida home

In a Peace of Mind Planning Session, families can talk through how a Florida home fits with a Last Will and Testament, a Revocable Living Trust and a Durable Power of Attorney. Plan Ahead also prepares Florida enhanced life estate deeds. Planning meetings take place by Zoom, and signings take place in person, at the client’s home or at our Lake Worth Beach office, with two witnesses and a notary provided by the firm. Schedule a Peace of Mind Planning Session. More on planning in Florida: Florida page.

Related reading

• Florida Homestead and the Estate Plan: Who Can Inherit the Home
• Revocable Living Trust in Florida: How It Works Under Florida Law

This article is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is formed by reading it.