“Lady Bird Deed”
 

I am not an attorney, but was interested in how to convey title to my residence in The Villages to my son (upon my death). If possible, I wanted to avoid the hassle and expense of Probate.

My online research showed me something called an “Enhanced Life Estate Deed” (aka: “Lady Bird Deed”). Florida is one of five states that offers such a deed. It can be done online, avoids Probate, gives the “Grantee” life tenancy, and all the benefits of ownership (including Homestead Exemption benefits). At $60, it sounded pretty good, but I would invite other’s opinions.

Once you complete the simple worksheet, it is emailed back to you. You then have the document notarized and signed by two witnesses, then take it to the Clerk of the Court’s office (at Morse & Hwy 466) to have it recorded ($27.70). Amazingly simple.

The site I used was:
Right of Survivorship Deed | DeedClaim

A lot of not attorneys post on here…….you want to use their advice?

I think it is a good idea because Florida does not allow a "payable on death" deed like some other states do. But, I would not do the lady bird deed online. I would go to a title company and pay them a few hundred dollars to prepare and record the deed. It will give you peace of mind that it was done correctly.

For a home worth several hundred thousand dollars you would trust the people here? Too important not to get professional advise.

The deed could be a problem if you want to sell or he gets in legal difficulty. Since you do not know what you do not know I would talk to an attorney. My attorney recommended to leave the home in my will. I think it avoids probate because it is going to my children. Anyone have any comments on this?

The question to your attorney should be “does leaving house in my will to anyone avoid probate?” Your question for comments may not be any reliable than google

The problem with leaving the house to your child in a will is that you may not be able to sell it without going through probate. When my mother died and left her house to me in her will, I had to go through probate because I could not sell the house. The closing attorney/title company would not accept a will as proof that I had clear title to the house. How do they know that the will is current and valid and that there are no other heirs unless the estate is probated?

Well my wife and I still have our financial adviser in Wisconsin, and he has a lot of clients that are snowbirds here in Florida.

The last time we went back to Wi.he suggested we add "The Lady Bird Deed" to our estate. Our adopted son will get our house some day, he also lives in Florida.

Another option is to put the home in a trust.

Yep and name your son the successor trustee, all neat and clean.

Checking with an attorney is the way to validate that, I think probate is the way ownership is transferred from one name to another (or others)
Dusty

Lady Bird Deeds | Nolo

Excerpt .

These deeds are also called "enhanced life estate" deeds. With a standard life estate deed, you could name a beneficiary to inherit your property while you keep ownership of it for your lifetime, but with significant restrictions. You wouldn't have the right to sell or mortgage the property, and you might also be liable to the beneficiary you named if you greatly decreased the value of the property—for example, let a house fall into serious disrepair.

Nolo began publishing do-it-yourself legal guides in 1971. In the 40 years since its founding, Nolo has evolved with technology, developing do-it-yourself software and building Nolo.com into one of the Internet's leading legal websites.

You left out an important part of the nolo paragraph. You CAN sell the property with a lady bird deed. Here is the entire paragraph.

How a Lady Bird Deed Works

These deeds are also called "enhanced life estate" deeds. With a standard life estate deed, you could name a beneficiary to inherit your property while you keep ownership of it for your lifetime, but with significant restrictions. You wouldn't have the right to sell or mortgage the property, and you might also be liable to the beneficiary you named if you greatly decreased the value of the property—for example, let a house fall into serious disrepair.

By contrast, an enhanced life estate deed (the Lady Bird deed), lets you:

avoid probate of the property keep the right to use and profit from the property for your lifetimekeep the right to sell the property at any time avoid making a gift that might be subject to federal gift tax avoid jeopardizing your eligibility for Medicaid in some states, prevent the property from being sold, after your death, to repay the cost of Medicaid benefits you received.

I agree with the posters who suggested consulting with an attorney for advice. But, if all of your assets consist of financial investments and a house, and you only have one heir, I think a trust is overkill and too expensive. You can set up your financial accounts as payable on death, and get a lady bird deed for the house for less money than paying an attorney to create a trust. And, I would trust one of The Villages title companies to replace my house deed with a lady bird deed. They all have attorneys on staff who know how to do it.

Call Aimee Occhetti at Law Center of Central Florida. She knows about lady bird deeds. 352-633-9791. She’s in freedom plaza on 44