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Transfer-on-Death Deeds · Florida

Florida Transfer-on-Death Deed

Can you pass a Florida home to your heirs outside probate with a transfer-on-death deed? No — Florida does not offer a transfer-on-death deed for real property. This page explains why, and the verified alternatives Florida families use instead.

Written by TTA Editorial

Published July 26, 2026 · Last verified July 26, 2026 · Update policy: reviewed at least annually and on change in law; statutory tables re-verified each legislative session

At a glance

TOD / beneficiary deedNot available
InstrumentNone — not available for real property
Governing lawNo TOD-deed statute — Florida uses the enhanced life estate (Lady Bird) deed; confirm with the county recorder
Community-property stateNo

Why Florida has no TOD deed

Florida has not enacted a transfer-on-death (beneficiary) deed statute for real property, and it has not adopted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act. There is no Florida statute that lets an owner name a beneficiary on the face of a deed to receive real estate automatically at death the way a payable-on-death designation works for a bank account. A deed drafted to "transfer on death" is not a recognized real-property instrument in Florida.

What Florida does recognize, through longstanding title practice and case law rather than a dedicated statute, is the enhanced life estate deed — commonly called a "Lady Bird" deed. With this instrument the owner conveys a life estate to themselves but expressly reserves the power to sell, mortgage, lease, convey, or revoke during life without the remainder beneficiary's consent, with a remainder passing to a named beneficiary only if the property is still owned at death. Because it is not a statutory form, the specific language matters and it should be prepared by an attorney licensed in Florida.

Owners who want a probate-avoidance result for Florida real estate typically use the enhanced life estate deed, a revocable living trust, or joint tenancy/tenancy-by-the-entirety with right of survivorship, each of which has different tax, homestead, and creditor consequences.

What to use instead

Because Florida offers no transfer-on-death deed, families keep a home out of probate with other tools. Common alternatives include:

  • Enhanced life estate (Lady Bird) deed — recognized in Florida (verified)
  • Revocable living trust holding the real estate
  • Joint tenancy or tenancy by the entirety with right of survivorship
  • Traditional life estate deed (irrevocable remainder — less flexible than a Lady Bird deed)

Mortgages, Medicaid & community property

Existing mortgages and liens

A beneficiary who takes Florida real estate through an enhanced life estate deed takes it subject to any mortgages, tax liens, judgment liens, and other encumbrances that exist against the property at the owner's death; the deed passes the owner's interest as-is and does not extinguish debts secured by the property.

Medicaid estate recovery

Florida Medicaid long-term-care planning around real estate is highly fact-specific, and estate recovery is a real issue you should not treat casually — confirm any strategy with the Florida Department of Children and Families (which determines Medicaid eligibility) and with an attorney or elder-law professional licensed in Florida. Note only this verified point: Florida's DCF ESS Policy Manual (§1640.0613.01) states that when an individual retains a life estate using a "lady bird deed or life estate with powers, no transfer has occurred," so creating one is not treated as a disqualifying transfer of assets. Whether the homestead is later subject to recovery depends on homestead and probate rules that should be reviewed case by case.

Community property

Florida is a common-law (separate-property) state. Florida is a common-law (non-community-property) state, so there is no community-property survivorship feature to interact with. Married owners commonly hold Florida homestead as tenants by the entirety, which carries its own automatic right of survivorship and creditor protection; a beneficiary designation on an enhanced life estate deed must be reconciled with how the couple holds title and with Florida's constitutional homestead protections.

Florida is one of the few states that genuinely recognizes the enhanced life estate ("Lady Bird") deed. It is not codified as a statutory form; recognition rests on Florida title practice and case law, and it is expressly referenced in the Florida DCF ESS Policy Manual (§1640.0613.01) for Medicaid purposes. Precise drafting of the reserved powers is essential and should be done by a Florida-licensed attorney.

State-specific quirks

No statutory TOD deed exists

Do not assume a beneficiary or transfer-on-death deed works in Florida because it works in neighboring states — Florida has no such statute. A deed styled as a TOD deed is not a recognized real-property instrument here, and relying on one can send the property through probate anyway.

Homestead rules can override intent

Florida's constitutional homestead protections and restrictions on devise (for example, when there is a surviving spouse or minor child) can limit or complicate how a homestead passes, even under an enhanced life estate deed. The interaction of homestead law with any beneficiary arrangement should be reviewed with a Florida attorney.

Sources & methodology

Methodology & sources

We could not confirm a primary-source transfer-on-death deed statute for Florida at the time of writing, so the availability above is flagged rather than cited — check it with the county recorder or an attorney licensed in Florida. Where this layer does cite a statute, the citation links the controlling statute — an official legislature source where available, or a third-party codified mirror of the state code otherwise; deed-form vendors and aggregator round-ups are not cited. State property and probate law changes every legislative session; this page carries the date it was last re-verified. See our editorial standards.

This page is educational and is not legal advice. Whether a transfer-on-death deed is right for you — and whether it survives Medicaid estate recovery, a mortgage’s due-on-sale clause, or a co-owner’s survivorship right — turns on facts a general page cannot resolve. Confirm your own situation with an attorney licensed in Florida.

Last verified July 26, 2026.