Boca Raton Lady Bird Deed Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between residence and domicile?
You can have as many residences as you can afford. You can only have one domicile. A residence is simply a place you live. Domicile is the one place the law treats as your permanent home, the place you intend to return to, and it is a question of fact combining physical presence with intention. For a Boca Raton owner who also keeps a house up north, the two concepts come apart, and almost every protection people assume attaches to their Florida home actually attaches to their Florida domicile.
Why does domicile matter for a Lady Bird Deed?
The deed itself works either way. A Lady Bird Deed conveys Florida real property regardless of where you are domiciled, and for a part-year owner it is often worth recording purely to avoid an ancillary Florida probate case. What domicile changes is everything around the deed. If Boca Raton is not your permanent home, the property is generally not your Florida homestead, which means no homestead exemption, no Save Our Homes cap, no constitutional creditor protection, and no restriction on devise. Those are the rules most articles quietly assume apply.
What is a declaration of domicile and does it settle the question?
It is a sworn statement filed with the clerk of the circuit court under Fla. Stat. § 222.17. A person who has established a Florida domicile may file a statement showing that he or she “resides in and maintains a place of abode in that county which he or she recognizes and intends to maintain as his or her permanent home.” There is a separate subsection for people who keep a place of abode in another state, under which the sworn statement says the Florida abode “constitutes his or her predominant and principal home.” Filing one is useful evidence of intention. It is not by itself conclusive, and it does not override facts pointing the other way.
What else does the state look at besides the declaration?
Everything that shows where your life actually is. Voter registration, driver license, vehicle registration and titling, where you file returns, where your bank and professional relationships sit, where your doctors are, where your mail goes, and how many days you spend where. Another state that believes you are still domiciled there can look at the same indicators. Consistency across all of them is the point. A declaration of domicile filed while everything else still points north persuades nobody.
I still own a house up north. Does my Florida deed cover it?
No. Real property is governed by the law of the state where it sits. A deed recorded in the Palm Beach County Official Records affects Palm Beach County land and nothing else. Your northern property needs an instrument valid under that state's law, and not every state recognizes an enhanced life estate deed. Without something in place, your family may face a probate case in each state where you own real property. Where property sits in more than one state, a revocable trust is often the cleaner answer.
If I die domiciled in another state, what happens to my Boca condo?
Your main probate opens where you were domiciled, and the Florida property generally requires a separate ancillary administration here, running alongside it. That is two cases, two sets of professionals and two timetables, on one family. A Lady Bird Deed on the Florida property removes it from that entirely, which is why the deed is often worth recording for a part-year owner even though the homestead protections do not apply. Our Miami Beach page works through the ancillary administration problem in detail.
Does my country club membership pass with the house?
That depends entirely on the club documents, not on the deed. Many Boca Raton communities have mandatory membership tied to ownership, and some have equity memberships with a refundable component. Whether a membership transfers with the property, must be resigned and resold, or carries a payment obligation for your beneficiaries is governed by the club's own rules. It is worth reading those documents before deciding who receives the home, because a beneficiary can inherit a house and an ongoing obligation they did not expect.
Where is a Lady Bird Deed recorded in Palm Beach County?
With the Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller, Palm Beach County. The main recording counter is at 205 North Dixie Highway, Room 4.2500, West Palm Beach, generally open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. For Boca Raton owners the nearest branch counter is usually the South County Courthouse, 200 West Atlantic Avenue, Delray Beach. Documents may also be submitted by mail or through e-recording, and a deed executed with an electronic signature can still be recorded on paper as a notary-certified printout where the recorder does not accept electronic filings.
Will a Boca Raton Lady Bird Deed affect my homestead exemption?
If the property is your homestead, a properly drafted deed should not affect the exemption or your Save Our Homes assessment cap during your lifetime. You retain an enhanced life estate, you remain in possession, and the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser continues to treat you as the owner of record. The cap resets at your death on the change of ownership, which happens with or without the deed. On a Boca property with a long-held exemption, that reset can be a substantial number.
Do my beneficiaries get a stepped-up basis?
Generally yes. Because you keep the enhanced powers, the property remains in your gross estate at death, which normally produces a stepped-up cost basis, meaning their basis becomes the date-of-death value rather than what you paid. In a market where values have risen substantially over a long holding period, and where heirs frequently live elsewhere and sell, this is often the largest single benefit of the deed. Confirm the treatment with a tax advisor.
Can a Boca Raton Lady Bird Deed be changed or revoked later?
Yes. You can sell the property, refinance it, lease it if the community documents permit, add or remove beneficiaries, or revoke the deed entirely without the consent of the people named to receive it. A new deed is prepared and recorded to make the change effective. For an owner who may eventually consolidate to one state or move closer to family, that flexibility matters.
More general questions are answered on our Florida Lady Bird Deed FAQ page.
