Clearwater Lady Bird Deed Frequently Asked Questions
My mother has a reverse mortgage. Does a Lady Bird Deed stop it becoming due?
No, and this is the point of the page. A Home Equity Conversion Mortgage becomes due and payable when the last surviving borrower dies or permanently leaves the home. The deed changes who holds title and removes the probate case, but it does not change the loan. Your heirs receive a house and a deadline together. The deed is still worth recording, because the alternative is that same deadline running while a probate case is pending, which is the worst combination available.
How long do the heirs actually have?
HUD guidance for heirs states that "The loan must be satisfied within 30 days of the date of the borrower's death." The lender may grant 90-day extensions where the estate shows active efforts to sell or repay, with satisfactory documentation. Extensions are not automatic: they depend on contacting the servicer promptly and producing a listing agreement, a purchase contract or a loan application. Individual loan documents and servicer requirements govern.
What if the loan balance is more than the house is worth?
A Home Equity Conversion Mortgage is non-recourse. Where the balance exceeds the value, "the estate or heirs may sell the home for at least 95-percent of the current appraised value and the lender will accept the net proceeds as satisfaction of the loan." The family is not chased for the shortfall out of their own money.
Can the heirs keep the house instead of selling it?
Yes. Heirs may either sell the home or repay the loan balance to keep it. Repaying usually means refinancing in the heir's own name, or paying cash. Time is the constraint, not willingness: an heir who wants to keep the house should be talking to a lender within days, because an underwriting calendar and a 30-day satisfaction period are not the same length.
Who pays the property taxes and insurance in the meantime?
Property taxes and insurance remain the estate's responsibility until title transfers. That does not pause because the family is grieving or the sale has not closed. A policy on a vacant Clearwater house needs attention too, since vacancy affects coverage under many policies.
My husband is not on the reverse mortgage. Can he stay in the house?
Possibly, but it is a specific process with a short fuse. Non-borrowing spouses have separate rules and must provide certification to the lender within 30 days to potentially remain in the property. The word potentially matters, and so does the deadline. If one spouse is a borrower and the other is not, find out now, in writing, what the servicer expects and by when.
Should we just sell the house during my lifetime instead?
It is often the better answer. A properly drafted Lady Bird Deed reserves your power to sell, convey, mortgage, lease and revoke without the beneficiaries' consent, so the deed never blocks a sale. Selling while you are alive lets you control the timing, the price and the repayment, rather than leaving it to a clock that starts on your family's worst day.
Where is a Lady Bird Deed recorded in Pinellas County?
With the Pinellas County Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller, in the county's Official Records. Recording counters operate at 14250 49th Street North, Clearwater and at 545 1st Avenue North, St. Petersburg, generally 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays. The Clerk's main office is at 315 Court Street, Clearwater. E-recording is available. For a Clearwater owner the 49th Street North counter is the local one.
Does a Clearwater Lady Bird Deed protect the home from Medicaid estate recovery?
Florida limits Medicaid estate recovery to assets passing through the probate estate, and 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 exposure on a Florida homestead, and with 16.9% of Clearwater residents aged 65 or older it comes up often. The deed does not create eligibility, the five-year look-back applies to non-homestead transfers, and protection depends on the home passing to heirs. See our Medicaid guide.
Do my beneficiaries still get a stepped-up basis if there is a reverse mortgage?
The basis mechanism is not changed by the presence of a loan. Because the property remains in your gross estate, your beneficiaries' cost basis becomes the date-of-death value rather than what you paid. Where a reverse mortgage has consumed much of the equity there may be less gain to shelter, but the step-up still governs. The Save Our Homes cap resets at death. Confirm the treatment with a tax advisor.
More general questions are on our Florida Lady Bird Deed FAQ page.
