Transfer-on-Death Deed Requirements in Florida

At a glance

Florida is one of the states that does not have a transfer-on-death deed for real estate. It never adopted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act, so there is no statute that lets you record a deed now naming who inherits your house automatically at your death. A document labeled "transfer on death deed" recorded on Florida land does not do what it says — there is no law to make the future transfer happen, and relying on one can leave your family with a title problem and a probate case exactly when they thought the matter was settled.

That does not mean your home has to go through probate. Florida just uses different tools, and the good news is that one of them — the Lady Bird deed — gives almost the same result.

What Florida offers instead

The Lady Bird deed (enhanced life estate deed). This is the closest Florida equivalent to a TOD deed and the tool Florida lawyers reach for most. You deed the property to your chosen beneficiary now but reserve an "enhanced" life estate — meaning you keep the right to live in, sell, mortgage, lease, or give away the property during your life, and to revoke the deed, all without the beneficiary's consent. The beneficiary has no present interest and cannot stop you from doing any of that. When you die, whatever interest you still hold passes to the beneficiary automatically, with no probate. A Lady Bird deed is signed and recorded like any other Florida deed: under § 689.01, a conveyance of real property must be "signed in the presence of two subscribing witnesses," and in practice it is also acknowledged before a notary so it can be recorded. You revoke it by recording a new deed.

A revocable living trust. You move the home into a trust you control and can change or revoke at any time; a successor trustee distributes it at your death without probate. A trust costs more to set up but can hold many assets, name backup beneficiaries, and plan for incapacity — things a single deed cannot.

Survivorship co-ownership. Property held as joint tenants with right of survivorship, or by a married couple as tenants by the entireties, passes to the surviving co-owner outside probate. But adding a co-owner is a present gift of an interest and exposes the property to that person's creditors, so it is a blunter tool than a Lady Bird deed.

Florida clearly knows how to create a transfer-on-death mechanism — it enacted one for securities. The Florida Uniform Transfer-on-Death Security Registration Act (§§ 711.50–711.512) lets you register stocks and brokerage accounts in "beneficiary form" so they pass at death without probate. But that act is limited to "securities" and "security accounts"; the Legislature has never extended the same idea to real property.

Florida homestead: the rule that can override your plan

Before you rely on any of these tools for your home, know the one Florida rule that can defeat all of them: the constitutional homestead protection. Under § 732.4015, which restates the State Constitution, "the homestead shall not be subject to devise if the owner is survived by a spouse or a minor child or minor children," with a narrow exception allowing a devise to a spouse when there is no minor child. In plain terms: if you are married or have a minor child, you generally cannot leave your Florida homestead to anyone else — not by will, not by Lady Bird deed, not by trust. A surviving spouse takes a life estate (or an elective half-interest) and minor children are protected, regardless of what your deed says. This is where do-it-yourself plans most often fail in Florida.

What trips people up

• A "transfer on death deed" recorded in Florida is not valid for real estate. Out-of-state forms and online templates for TOD deeds do not work here. Recording one clouds your title without accomplishing the transfer, and the property may still need probate.
• Homestead beats your deed. If you are married or have a minor child, § 732.4015 can override a Lady Bird deed or trust that tries to leave the homestead to someone else. If you are married, your spouse generally must join in the deed. Sort out homestead before anything else.
• Get the enhanced-life-estate language right. Leaving out the reserved powers to sell, mortgage, and revoke turns a Lady Bird deed into a traditional life estate — which freezes your control, requires the beneficiary's consent to sell or mortgage, and is the opposite of what you wanted. The wording is the whole point of the tool.

Common questions

I signed a transfer-on-death deed for my Florida house. Is it good? Almost certainly not, as a TOD deed. Florida has no statute that gives such a deed effect for real estate. Have a Florida attorney review it and, if appropriate, replace it with a Lady Bird deed or trust while you can.

Is a Lady Bird deed the same as a life estate deed? No. A traditional life estate deed gives up your right to sell or mortgage without the remainder beneficiary's consent. A Lady Bird (enhanced life estate) deed reserves those powers, so you keep full control — that reserved-powers language is what separates the two.

Will a Lady Bird deed protect my home from Medicaid? It is commonly used in Medicaid planning because the owner keeps full control and the home passes outside probate, and Florida's homestead has strong constitutional protection from creditors. But Medicaid eligibility and estate-recovery rules are technical and change; talk to an elder-law attorney before relying on it.

Could Florida add a TOD deed later? Possibly. The Florida Bar's real-property section has studied proposals to adopt the Uniform Act, but no such bill is pending. Until the Legislature acts, the Lady Bird deed and trust remain the tools.

Statutes and sources

• Fla. Stat. § 711.50 (short title: Florida Uniform Transfer-on-Death Security Registration Act — securities only) — https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/711.50 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Fla. Stat. § 711.501 (definitions confirming the act covers "securities" and "security accounts," not real property) — https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/711.501 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Fla. Stat. § 689.01 (how real estate is conveyed: signed before two subscribing witnesses) — https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/689.01 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Fla. Stat. § 732.4015 (devise of homestead barred if survived by spouse or minor child) — https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/732.4015 (accessed 2026-07-11)