Broward County Lady Bird Deed Attorney

From Oceanfront Condos to West Broward Single-Family Homes

A Broward County Lady Bird Deed keeps your home out of probate,
and in Broward it is recorded by a different office than you might expect.

SCHEDULE A CONSULTATION CALL: 305-299-7496
Yanitza Schoonover, Florida probate and estate planning attorney
Written and reviewed by Yanitza Schoonover, Florida probate and estate planning attorney The Schoonover Law Firm, P.A. · Updated October 2026

Broward County Lady Bird Deed Attorney

A Broward County Lady Bird Deed, known formally as a Florida enhanced life estate deed, lets your condominium, townhome or house pass directly to the people you name at your death, without a probate case in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit. Nothing changes while you are alive: you stay on title, you keep your homestead exemption, and you can live in the property, rent it, refinance it, sell it, or revoke the deed entirely.

This page is the county-level view. Our city guides go deep on one question each, from 55+ communities in Pembroke Pines to docks and boat slips in Fort Lauderdale. What every Broward owner shares is the machinery: the office that records the deed, the court that would otherwise handle the estate, and the Property Appraiser who administers the homestead exemption. Broward also has one quirk that sends a surprising number of do-it-yourself deeds to the wrong place: the Clerk of Courts does not record deeds here.

The other thing worth saying at the start is that Broward is really two housing markets. Along the coast and the Intracoastal, a large share of owners hold a condominium unit. Further west, in the master-planned cities, most owners hold a single-family home, villa or townhome inside a homeowners association. The deed is the same document in both, but the questions around it are not, and we cover both below.

Broward County Lady Bird Deed: the short version

  • What it does: names beneficiaries who receive your Broward property automatically at death, outside of probate.
  • What you keep: full control for life, including the right to sell, mortgage, lease or revoke without anyone’s permission.
  • Where it records: Broward County Records, Taxes & Treasury Division, not the Clerk of Courts.
  • What it costs here: a $595 flat fee for preparation plus $24.85 recording, $619.85 in total.
  • What it replaces: a probate case in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, with its creditor period and court calendar.
  • Condo or house: the deed works on both. The association documents, not the deed, are where the two differ.

What Is a Broward County Lady Bird Deed?

A Broward County Lady Bird Deed is the common name for a Florida enhanced life estate deed recorded on property in Broward County. It names the beneficiaries, called remaindermen, who receive the property automatically at your death, and it reserves to you an enhanced life estate that leaves you in complete control while you are alive.

The enhancement is the whole point. Under a traditional life estate deed you could not sell or mortgage without every beneficiary signing, and their creditors or divorces could reach their interest. An enhanced life estate deed reserves the power to sell, convey, mortgage, lease and revoke without their consent, so the people you name hold nothing more than an expectancy until you die. If that reservation language is weak or copied from a generic form, the deed can behave like an ordinary life estate deed, which is the most common defect we see in do-it-yourself deeds.

Owners sometimes ask whether Broward offers a “transfer on death deed” like the ones used in other states. Florida has not enacted a transfer on death deed statute for real property, and Florida’s transfer on death registration law (Fla. Stat. ch. 711) covers securities, not land. The Lady Bird Deed is the Florida instrument that does that job. Our Florida transfer on death deed guide explains the difference, and the comparison page lines the deed up against wills, trusts and quitclaim deeds.

Broward County Lady Bird Deed attorney preparing an enhanced life estate deed for recording

Recording a Lady Bird Deed in Broward County

In most Florida counties the Clerk of the Circuit Court is also the county recorder. Broward is different. Here the Official Records are kept by the county’s Records, Taxes & Treasury Division, which is the statutory repository for the Official Records of Broward County. The Broward Clerk of Courts handles court files, including probate cases, but not deed recording. A deed mailed to the Clerk is a deed mailed to the wrong office.

The recording counter is at the Broward County Governmental Center, 115 South Andrews Avenue, Room 114, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301. Deeds can also be mailed or submitted through an approved e-recording provider, which is how we normally record and which returns the recorded instrument in a day or two. Records, Taxes & Treasury also runs the county’s free Recording Notification Service, which alerts a registered owner when a document is recorded under their name. Every Broward owner should sign up for it, deed or no deed, because it is the earliest warning of a fraudulent conveyance.

Execution requirements

Florida requires a deed conveying an interest in real property to be signed in the presence of two subscribing witnesses and acknowledged before a notary public (Fla. Stat. §§ 689.01 and 695.03). Both witnesses must be present and must sign. Since January 1, 2024, Florida has also required the post-office address of each witness to appear on the recorded deed (Fla. Stat. § 695.26). A deed missing a witness, or a witness address, is a routine recording rejection; a defectively witnessed deed that slips through and surfaces at death is far worse, because it can no longer be fixed.

Recording fees and documentary stamp tax

Broward recording charges follow the statewide statutory schedule. Confirm current amounts with Records, Taxes & Treasury before recording.
First page$10.00
Each additional page$8.50
Each name indexed beyond four$1.00
Documentary stamp tax rate in BrowardThe standard statewide $0.70 per $100 of consideration on taxable deeds
Documentary stamp tax on a Lady Bird DeedNot taxable, per Florida Department of Revenue TAA 20B4-004

Broward applies the standard statewide rate, unlike neighboring Miami-Dade, which has its own rate and surtax. For a Lady Bird Deed the more important point is whether the tax applies at all. In Technical Assistance Advisement 20B4-004 (October 16, 2020), the Florida Department of Revenue concluded that an enhanced life estate deed is not subject to documentary stamp tax, because no present beneficial interest transfers when the deed is signed. A Technical Assistance Advisement binds the Department only as to the taxpayer and facts presented, so a deed on a mortgaged property still deserves a look before recording.

Sources: Broward County Records, Taxes & Treasury Division, Official Records; Florida Department of Revenue Technical Assistance Advisement 20B4-004 (Oct. 16, 2020); Fla. Stat. ch. 201; Fla. Stat. § 28.24 (statutory service charges); Fla. Stat. §§ 689.01, 695.03, 695.26.

Broward Probate: What a Lady Bird Deed Lets Your Family Skip

Without a deed, trust or other non-probate arrangement, a Broward home that was titled in your sole name passes through probate in the Probate Division of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which sits at the Broward County Courthouse, 201 SE 6th Street in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Filings go through the statewide e-filing portal and the case file is kept by the Broward Clerk of Courts. Broward is one of the busiest probate dockets in Florida, and docket volume translates directly into calendar time.

What a Broward probate case typically involves. A Lady Bird Deed removes the home from every row.
StepWhat it means for the family
Deposit the original willWhoever holds the original must deposit it with the Clerk within 10 days of learning of the death (Fla. Stat. § 732.901).
Petition and appointmentFormal administration ordinarily requires a Florida attorney from the first filing. The court then appoints a personal representative.
Notice to creditorsPublished notice opens a three-month creditor claim period, and nothing can close before it runs.
Inventory and administrationThe personal representative inventories assets, pays valid claims and expenses, and accounts to the beneficiaries.
Homestead determinationA title company usually wants a court order determining homestead status before it will insure a sale of the house.
Distribution and dischargeOnly then does title move to the heirs.

The 2026 change to summary administration

Effective July 1, 2026, CS/HB 1337 (ch. 2026-57, Laws of Fla.) raised the non-exempt asset ceiling for Florida summary administration from $75,000 to $150,000 (Fla. Stat. § 735.201), for decedents who die on or after that date. Summary administration also remains available at any value once more than two years have passed since the death. That helps smaller Broward estates, but summary administration is still a court proceeding, and a homestead typically still needs its own petition and order determining homestead status before title is marketable. A Lady Bird Deed skips that step for the house altogether.

The deed does not eliminate probate for everything. Bank accounts without a beneficiary designation, vehicles and personal belongings are untouched by it. What it does is take the single largest asset in most Broward estates, the home, out of the court process entirely.

The Broward County Property Appraiser: Homestead, Save Our Homes and Portability

The Broward County Property Appraiser administers the homestead exemption, the Save Our Homes assessment cap, and portability. None of those is the recording office, and none of them needs to approve a Lady Bird Deed, but all three interact with it.

  • Your homestead exemption stays. Florida treats the holder of a life estate as an owner for homestead purposes (Fla. Stat. § 196.041). You keep the exemption and the Save Our Homes cap while you live.
  • The cap does not pass to your beneficiaries. It resets on the change of ownership at your death, the same as it would through probate or a trust.
  • Beneficiaries apply in their own name. A child who moves into the home applies to the Property Appraiser for their own exemption. The statewide filing deadline is March 1 of the tax year.
  • Portability is yours, not theirs. If you sell and buy a new Florida homestead, you can generally transfer up to $500,000 of your accumulated Save Our Homes benefit, provided you establish the new homestead within three years. That is a reason the deed’s power to sell matters: you are never locked in.

The constitutional side of homestead is separate from the tax side. Under Article X, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution, a married owner cannot convey homestead without the spouse joining, and homestead cannot be devised away from a surviving spouse or a minor child. A married Broward couple normally signs the deed together, naming beneficiaries who take after the second death. Where there is a minor child, a deed naming anyone else is a problem that needs a different plan, which our Parkland guide walks through.

One more reason to keep the enhanced powers: because you retain them, the property remains in your gross estate at death, which normally gives your beneficiaries a stepped-up cost basis equal to the date-of-death value. On a Broward home bought decades ago, that step-up can eliminate most of the capital gain on a later sale. Deeding the home to a child during life generally forfeits it.

Condos vs. Single-Family Homes: The County-Wide Picture

Broward’s geography explains most of what we see. The coastal and Intracoastal cities, Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Hollywood and Hallandale Beach, hold much of the county’s high-rise and mid-rise condominium stock. The central cities such as Plantation, Sunrise and Lauderdale Lakes mix older single-family neighborhoods with garden-style condominiums. The western cities, Weston, Pembroke Pines, Miramar, Coral Springs and Parkland, are dominated by master-planned single-family communities with homeowners associations, and Davie adds acreage.

A Lady Bird Deed works on every one of those property types. The deed conveys the unit or the lot described in the last vesting deed, and the beneficiaries take it at death. What changes is the paperwork around it.

Where condominium and single-family planning diverge in Broward. Your recorded declaration and your title control.
QuestionCondominium unitSingle-family home in an HOA
What governs transfers?The declaration of condominium under Fla. Stat. ch. 718. Some require approval or give the association a right of first refusal.The HOA declaration under Fla. Stat. ch. 720. Approval rights are less common but appear in some communities.
What follows the property to heirs?Unpaid assessments and any recorded lien, plus special assessments already levied.Unpaid assessments and any recorded lien.
Building-wide obligationsIn buildings three stories or taller, milestone inspections and structural integrity reserve requirements can produce large special assessments that the heir inherits with the unit.Roof, seawall and system repairs are the owner’s own, not shared.
Can the heir move in?Usually, unless the building is age restricted or limits occupancy.Usually, unless the community is a 55+ community. See our Pembroke Pines guide.
Can the heir rent it?Often restricted. Some declarations limit leasing in the first years of ownership or cap the number of rentals.Sometimes restricted, depending on the declaration.
Is a deed the right instrument at all?Yes for a condominium. Not for a cooperative, where you own shares and a proprietary lease. See our Deerfield Beach guide.Yes. On large lots, note the homestead acreage limits covered in our Davie guide.

Why the condo questions deserve more attention

A single-family heir inherits a house and its HOA ledger. A condominium heir inherits a share of a building, and since Florida’s post-Surfside condominium safety legislation, older coastal buildings have faced milestone inspections and reserve funding requirements that can translate into substantial special assessments. Those obligations travel with the unit to whoever receives it. They do not stop the deed and should not stop the plan, but your beneficiaries deserve to know whether the unit they will receive carries a pending assessment. We read the declaration before drafting so the transfer your family expects is the one they actually get. Our Hallandale Beach and Pompano Beach guides go further on oceanfront buildings, and our rental, condo and LLC guide covers units held as investments.

Medicaid and Estate Recovery

Florida’s Medicaid program is required by federal law to seek reimbursement from the estates of recipients aged 55 and over who received long-term care benefits. Florida defines that estate narrowly: recovery reaches assets passing through the probate estate, and Florida has not adopted the expanded definition some states use. Because a Lady Bird Deed moves the home outside probate, it is one of the standard tools for reducing estate recovery exposure on a Florida homestead.

The limits

  • The deed does not qualify anyone for Medicaid. Eligibility is a separate analysis.
  • The five-year look-back still applies to other transfers, including an outright gift of the home.
  • Protection depends on the home keeping homestead status and passing to heirs; if the home falls back into the probate estate (for example, because no named beneficiary survives), recovery rules can reach it.

Our full write-up is on the Florida Lady Bird Deed and Medicaid page, and our Hollywood guide looks at estate recovery in one of Broward’s older housing markets.

Sources: 42 U.S.C. § 1396p; Fla. Stat. §§ 409.910 and 409.9101; Art. X, § 4, Fla. Const.

After a Death: What Your Family Does in Broward

  1. Order certified death certificates

    Several copies. The insurer, the association and any lender will each want one.

  2. Record one with Records, Taxes & Treasury

    Recorded in the Broward County Official Records, it publicly establishes that the life estate has ended and the named beneficiaries hold title. Again, not the Clerk.

  3. Notify the association

    Condominium and HOA associations update owner records, and some require an application or estoppel before a new owner occupies or leases.

  4. Provide an affidavit if a title company asks

    On a sale or refinance, a title underwriter commonly wants an affidavit confirming identity, continuous marital status, and that the deed was never revoked.

  5. Apply for a new homestead exemption, if someone moves in

    Your exemption does not transfer. A beneficiary who occupies the home applies with the Broward County Property Appraiser by March 1.

  6. Notify the insurer

    The insurer needs to know who owns and occupies the property. Vacant property has different coverage requirements.

What is not on that list: a petition in the Seventeenth Circuit, a personal representative, published notice to creditors, a creditor claim period for the home, or an order determining homestead. Our guide to what happens after the owner dies covers each step in more detail.

What a Broward County Lady Bird Deed Does Not Do

Common misconceptions we hear from Broward owners.
People assume it…Reality
Gets recorded by the ClerkNot in Broward. Records, Taxes & Treasury keeps the Official Records.
Clears condo assessmentsNo. Unpaid and special assessments follow the unit to the beneficiaries.
Overrides association documentsNo. Approval rights, leasing limits and age restrictions still apply.
Works on a co-op apartmentGenerally no. A cooperative interest is shares plus a lease, not real property you can deed.
Covers the whole estateOnly the property described in the deed. Accounts, vehicles and belongings are untouched.
Passes your Save Our Homes cap to the kidsNo. It resets on the change of ownership at death.
Qualifies you for MedicaidNo. It may reduce estate recovery exposure on a homestead, but it does not create eligibility.

How to Get a Broward County Lady Bird Deed

Our flat fee covers the drafting and the recording instructions. Here is the sequence for a Broward property.

  1. Confirm the deed fits your goals

    Review how the property is titled, who you want to receive it, whether you are married, and whether there is a minor child. Florida homestead rules decide whether a Lady Bird Deed works as intended.

  2. Identify the property type

    A condominium unit, a single-family home and a cooperative apartment are handled differently. A co-op interest generally cannot be conveyed by deed at all.

  3. Pull the vesting deed and folio number

    The new deed must carry the exact legal description from the last recorded deed in the Broward County Official Records, together with the folio number from the Broward County Property Appraiser.

  4. Read the association documents

    Check the declaration for transfer approval, rights of first refusal, leasing limits, age restrictions and any pending special assessment before the deed is drafted.

  5. Draft the enhanced life estate reservation

    The deed must reserve the powers to sell, convey, mortgage, lease and revoke without the consent of the remainder beneficiaries.

  6. Sign before two witnesses and a notary

    Florida requires two subscribing witnesses, with their post-office addresses on the deed, and a notary acknowledgment. A married owner’s spouse joins the deed on homestead property.

  7. Record with Broward County Records, Taxes and Treasury

    Not the Clerk of Courts. Record at 115 South Andrews Avenue, Room 114, Fort Lauderdale, by mail, or by e-recording, at $10.00 for the first page and $8.50 for each additional page.

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Cities We Serve in Broward County

We prepare Lady Bird Deeds for property anywhere in Broward County. Each of these city guides takes one question that comes up constantly in that market and answers it in depth.

Fort Lauderdale Lady Bird Deed Waterfront and canal property, and whether the dock and boat slip actually pass with the house. Hollywood Lady Bird Deed An older market where Medicaid estate recovery and clouded title matter most. Pembroke Pines Lady Bird Deed Age-restricted 55+ communities, where an heir can own the home but may not occupy it. Miramar Lady Bird Deed Foreign wills, and why a handwritten will valid abroad is not valid in Florida. Coral Springs Lady Bird Deed For the adult child helping a parent: capacity, undue influence and the limits of a power of attorney. Davie Lady Bird Deed Acreage and equestrian parcels, where homestead protection stops at one-half acre inside a city. Plantation Lady Bird Deed Long-tenured owners, and what happens when a named beneficiary dies before you do. Sunrise Lady Bird Deed Divorce does not revoke a deed, and the automatic revocation statutes stop at the house. Weston Lady Bird Deed Where the house is not the whole estate, and one recorded deed is not the whole plan. Parkland Lady Bird Deed Young families, and the rule that homestead cannot be devised while a minor child survives you. Pompano Beach Lady Bird Deed Beachfront condominiums, and what happens to a deed if the condominium is terminated. Deerfield Beach Lady Bird Deed Cooperatives are not condominiums, and a deed generally cannot convey a co-op interest. Lauderdale Lakes Lady Bird Deed Modest estates, where probate costs the most relative to what is being passed on. Hallandale Beach Lady Bird Deed Oceanfront condominiums, inherited assessments and milestone inspections.

Not listed? Owners in Tamarac, Margate, Oakland Park, Wilton Manors, Dania Beach, Cooper City, Lauderhill, Coconut Creek and every other Broward municipality record in the same Records, Taxes & Treasury office and face the same Seventeenth Circuit probate court. Neighboring counties have their own guides: Miami-Dade County to the south and Palm Beach County to the north.

Nearby Areas We Serve

Many Broward families also own, or are inheriting, property just across the county line.

  • Miami-Dade County: a different recording office and the only county with its own documentary stamp rate.
  • Palm Beach County: 55+ condominiums and seasonal residents, recorded with the Palm Beach Clerk.
  • Boca Raton: whether a seasonal home is really your Florida homestead.
  • Delray Beach: South Palm Beach County retirement communities just north of Deerfield.
  • Miami: condominiums and the estate tax rule for a spouse who is not a US citizen.

Browse every market on our areas we serve page.

Work With a Broward County Lady Bird Deed Attorney

Yanitza Schoonover focuses her practice on probate administration and estate planning for Florida families. She helps Broward County homeowners with:

  • Broward County Lady Bird Deed drafting, execution and recording
  • Condominium and HOA document review before the deed is signed
  • Formal and summary probate administration
  • Estate planning coordination for Florida homesteads


Whether your Broward property is an oceanfront condo or a house in a western subdivision, the deed is short and has to be exactly right. For a $595 flat fee we prepare it, tell you plainly whether it fits, and make sure it goes to the right office.

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Broward County Lady Bird Deed attorney Yanitza Schoonover

Yanitza Schoonover

Broward County Lady Bird Deed Frequently Asked Questions

Who records a Lady Bird Deed in Broward County?

The Broward County Records, Taxes and Treasury Division, not the Clerk of Courts. Broward is unusual among Florida counties because its Official Records are kept by this county division. The recording counter is at the Broward County Governmental Center, 115 South Andrews Avenue, Room 114, Fort Lauderdale, and deeds may also be mailed or submitted through an approved e-recording provider. Recording costs $10.00 for the first page and $8.50 for each additional page.

Which court handles probate in Broward County?

The Probate Division of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, at the Broward County Courthouse in downtown Fort Lauderdale, with case files kept by the Broward Clerk of Courts. Formal administration involves an attorney, a personal representative, a published notice to creditors and a three-month claim period, and a homestead usually needs a separate order before it can be sold with title insurance. A Lady Bird Deed takes the home out of that process.

Does a Lady Bird Deed work on a Broward condominium?

Yes. The deed works on a condominium unit the same way it works on a house. What differs is the building: the declaration may require association approval or contain a right of first refusal, leasing may be restricted, and any unpaid or special assessments follow the unit to your beneficiaries. In older coastal buildings, milestone inspections and reserve requirements can produce large special assessments, so we read the declaration before drafting.

Can I use a Lady Bird Deed on a co-op apartment in Broward?

Generally no. In a cooperative you own shares in the corporation that owns the building plus a proprietary lease, not a deeded unit, so there is no real property interest for an enhanced life estate deed to convey. Co-op interests are planned through the cooperative’s own transfer rules, a trust, or other tools. Many owners are not sure which they have, so we check the vesting document first.

Will a Broward County Lady Bird Deed affect my homestead exemption?

A properly drafted deed should not affect your homestead exemption or your Save Our Homes cap during your lifetime. Florida treats the holder of a life estate as an owner for homestead purposes, and you remain in possession. The cap resets at your death on the change of ownership, which happens with or without the deed, and a beneficiary who moves in applies to the Broward County Property Appraiser for their own exemption by March 1.

Is documentary stamp tax due when I record a Lady Bird Deed in Broward?

In Technical Assistance Advisement 20B4-004, issued October 16, 2020, the Florida Department of Revenue concluded that an enhanced life estate deed is not subject to documentary stamp tax, because no present beneficial interest transfers when it is signed. Broward otherwise applies the standard statewide rate of $0.70 per $100 of consideration on taxable deeds. A Technical Assistance Advisement binds the Department only as to the taxpayer and facts presented, so a deed on a mortgaged property should still be reviewed.

Did Florida change the summary administration limit in 2026?

Yes. Effective July 1, 2026, CS/HB 1337 (ch. 2026-57, Laws of Fla.) raised the non-exempt asset ceiling for Florida summary administration from $75,000 to $150,000 under Fla. Stat. section 735.201, for decedents who die on or after that date. Summary administration remains available at any value once more than two years have passed since the death. Even then, a Broward homestead usually still requires a separate order determining homestead status before title is marketable.

How much does a Broward County Lady Bird Deed cost?

Our fee is a $595 flat fee for preparing the deed, plus $24.85 for recording, for a total of $619.85. There is no hourly billing. The county’s recording charge is set by statute at $10.00 for the first page and $8.50 for each additional page, and a Lady Bird Deed is not subject to documentary stamp tax under the Department of Revenue’s 2020 advisement.

More general questions are answered on our Florida Lady Bird Deed FAQ page. Flat-fee pricing is on our pricing page.

Florida Lady Bird Deed Attorney Serves Homeowners Across Florida

We help homeowners throughout Florida with Lady Bird Deeds and probate avoidance planning. Below are many of the primary Florida markets we serve, but we're not limited to these locations. You can also browse the full Florida Lady Bird Deed city and county directory, or read our Lady Bird Deed guides.

• Boca Raton • Boynton Beach • Bradenton • Cape Coral • Clearwater • Coral Springs • Davie • Daytona Beach • Deerfield Beach • Delray Beach • Doral • Fort Lauderdale • Fort Myers • Hallandale Beach • Hialeah • Hollywood • Homestead • Jacksonville • Kendall • Lauderdale Lakes • Melbourne • Miami • Miami Beach • Miramar • Naples • Ocala • Orlando • Palm Coast • Parkland • Pembroke Pines • Pine Hills • Plantation • Pompano Beach • Port Charlotte • Port Saint Lucie • Saint Petersburg • Sarasota • Spring Hill • Sunrise • Tallahassee • Tampa • Venice • The Villages • West Palm Beach • Weston

Legal disclaimer. This page is general information about Florida law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Condominium and homeowners association rules depend on each community’s recorded documents. Recording locations, fees, tax rates and court procedures described were accurate as of October 2026 and should be confirmed with Broward County Records, Taxes & Treasury, the Broward County Property Appraiser and the Florida Department of Revenue before you rely on them.

The Schoonover Law Firm, P.A. · Yanitza Schoonover, Attorney at Law · Licensed in Florida. Attorney advertising.