By Chuck Roulet, Attorney · Licensed in Florida and Minnesota
Short answer: No. Florida has no transfer on death deed for real estate. Florida homeowners who want a house to pass without probate usually use an enhanced life estate deed, often called a Lady Bird deed, or a revocable living trust.
Why This Confuses So Many People
About 30 states have transfer on death deeds, including Minnesota. National videos and articles often say, “If your state has one, use it for your house.” Florida readers hear that and assume it applies to them.
It doesn’t. A deed labeled “transfer on death” doesn’t transfer Florida real estate at death. Florida’s transfer on death law covers investment accounts, not homes.
What Florida Uses Instead
The Lady Bird deed is Florida’s closest match. You keep full control of the home while you’re alive, including the right to sell or mortgage it. When you die, the home passes to the people you named without probate.
But it’s a different tool with its own rules, and I rarely recommend it. Florida’s homestead laws limit who can receive your home if you leave a spouse or a minor child. If you’re married, your spouse may need to sign. And a Lady Bird deed shares many of the same gaps as a transfer on death deed: no help if you become incapacitated, problems if a child dies before you, and no protection from a child’s divorce or creditors.
I walk through each of these risks, including a federal court case where a fire claim was denied during the gap after the owner’s death, in What a Lady Bird Deed Does — and What It Doesn’t.
Minnesota Snowbirds, Take Note
A Minnesota transfer on death deed works only for Minnesota property. It does nothing for a condo or house in Florida. If you own real estate in both states, you need a plan that covers both. A properly funded trust can hold property in each state and avoid probate in both. To learn more, download my free guide, The Florida Snowbird Guide.
Watch the Video
I explain this in my video “Is Getting a Trust a HUGE Mistake? What I’ve Learned After 30 Years”.
Read the full article: Is Getting a Trust a Huge Mistake? What I’ve Learned After 30 Years
If you own a home in Florida and want to know the right way to pass it on, schedule a consultation with our Venice, Florida office at Rouletlaw.com or call 941-909-4644 or you can fill out the contact form on this page.
About the Author
Chuck Roulet is the founding attorney of Roulet Law Firm, P.A., with offices in Minnetonka, Minnesota and Venice, Florida. He has practiced estate planning and elder law for nearly 30 years and is one of very few attorneys licensed in both Minnesota and Florida. Chuck has trained more than 35,000 attorneys and financial professionals as a continuing education speaker and is the author of three books, including The Florida Snowbird Guide. Florida: 941-909-4644 · Minnesota: 763-420-5087 · rouletlaw.com
This page is general information, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
