Fort Myers Lady Bird Deed Attorney

Written and reviewed by Yanitza Schoonover, Florida probate and estate planning attorney The Schoonover Law Firm, P.A. · Updated October 2026

Fort Myers Lady Bird Deed Attorney

A Fort Myers Lady Bird Deed, known formally as a Florida enhanced life estate deed, lets your home or condominium pass directly to the beneficiaries you name at your death, with no Lee County probate case. 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.

Hurricane Ian made landfall on Cayo Costa in Lee County on September 28, 2022, as a Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds near 150 mph. Years later, many Fort Myers households are still living with what followed: repairs, insurance disputes, permits, elevation decisions and new flood policies. A good number of those homeowners are older, and some have died partway through the process.

That produces the question this page is built around, and one that generic estate planning articles do not address: if I die while the claim is open or the rebuild is unfinished, what happens to the money and the work? The short answer is that a Lady Bird Deed moves the house. It does not, by itself, move the insurance check, the contractor’s contract, or the flood policy. Each needs its own attention.

What Is a Fort Myers Lady Bird Deed?

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

The enhancement matters more than usual after a hurricane. Under a traditional life estate deed you could not sell or mortgage without every named beneficiary signing. If you decide to sell a damaged house as-is, take a repair loan, or sell the lot and move inland, you need to be able to act alone. An enhanced life estate deed reserves the power to sell, convey, mortgage, lease and revoke without their consent.

For a broader comparison, see our guide to Lady Bird Deeds versus wills, trusts and quitclaim deeds.

The House Passes by Deed. The Insurance Check May Not.

A Lady Bird Deed conveys real property: the land and the building on it. An insurance claim is something different. The right to be paid for a loss under a homeowners or flood policy is a contract right belonging to the insured, which the law generally treats as personal property, not as part of the real estate.

That distinction rarely matters until an owner dies with a claim still open. If the hurricane damage happened while the owner was alive and the claim has not been fully paid, the unpaid proceeds generally belong to the owner, and after death to the owner’s estate. The beneficiaries named in the Lady Bird Deed receive the house, possibly still damaged, but may have no direct right to the check meant to repair it. Collecting it can require a personal representative, and that can mean opening the very probate case the deed was meant to avoid.

Where the lender fits in

If the home has a mortgage, the policy almost always names the lender as mortgagee, and claim checks are typically made payable to both the owner and the lender. Servicers commonly hold larger repair payments and release them in stages as work is inspected. After the owner’s death, the beneficiaries deal with that same servicer, which is why establishing themselves with the servicer early (see the mortgage section) matters as much as the deed.

Whether a particular claim right can be assigned, and to whom, depends on the policy and on Florida insurance law, which has changed several times since Ian. We look at the actual claim before recommending a structure.

An Unfinished Rebuild if the Owner Dies

A rebuild in progress is a bundle of relationships, and almost all of them run to the owner personally. The Lady Bird Deed moves title to the beneficiaries at death; it does not make them parties to the owner’s contracts.

• The construction contract is between the contractor and the owner. After death, the rights and obligations under it generally belong to the owner’s estate.

• The notice of commencement recorded for the job under Fla. Stat. § 713.13 names the owner and has its own expiration date.

• Construction liens under Florida’s lien law attach to the real property. A contractor or supplier who is not paid can lien the house, and the lien follows the property to the beneficiaries.

• Building permits issued by the City of Fort Myers or Lee County are tied to the job and the property; the new owners will need to work with the building department to close them out.

• Inspections and draws from the mortgage servicer often continue to depend on paperwork signed by the original owner.

None of this makes the Lady Bird Deed a bad choice for a home under repair. It means the deed should be part of a plan that also says who handles the contract and the claim. For many owners, that is a durable power of attorney for incapacity, plus either a funded revocable trust or a short, clear plan for the estate to collect remaining proceeds and pay the contractor.

If you are thinking about selling or refinancing the damaged property instead of finishing the work, our guide to selling or refinancing with a Lady Bird Deed in place explains why the deed does not stand in the way.

Flood Insurance, FEMA and the 50% Rule

Many Fort Myers properties lie in mapped flood zones, and Ian turned flood coverage from a line item into a central part of owning a home here. Three federal rules matter to an estate plan.

A flood policy can be assigned when title transfers

Under the National Flood Insurance Program, a written assignment of a policy is permitted upon transfer of title without FEMA’s consent, with limited exceptions such as contents-only policies. When an owner dies and the Lady Bird Deed passes the home, the beneficiaries should contact the insurer promptly and ask how to keep the coverage in force in their names. A lapse can affect premiums and, for a mortgaged home, will draw a lender-placed policy that is usually more expensive.

Lenders require flood coverage in high-risk zones

For a home in a Special Flood Hazard Area with a federally regulated or federally backed mortgage, flood insurance is a condition of the loan for as long as the loan is outstanding. Beneficiaries who inherit the house subject to that mortgage inherit the requirement too.

The substantial damage rule and ICC coverage

When the local floodplain administrator determines that the cost of repairs is 50% or more of the building’s pre-damage market value, the building is treated as substantially damaged and must be brought into compliance with current floodplain requirements, which often means elevation. An NFIP building policy generally includes Increased Cost of Compliance coverage of up to $30,000 toward that work. A substantial damage determination is made by the City of Fort Myers or Lee County, not by the deed, and it travels with the building.

FEMA assistance is not attached to the land

FEMA disaster assistance to individuals is awarded to an applicant household, not recorded against the property, so it is not something a deed transfers. A disaster loan secured by a recorded mortgage is different: like any mortgage, it stays on the property when it passes to the beneficiaries.

Sources: 44 C.F.R. Part 61 and the Standard Flood Insurance Policy (assignment on transfer of title); 44 C.F.R. § 59.1 (substantial damage); FEMA, Increased Cost of Compliance coverage. Confirm current rules with your insurer and the local floodplain administrator.

The Mortgage and the Lender

Many Fort Myers owners refinanced, took repair loans, or kept an existing mortgage through the rebuild. Signing a Lady Bird Deed does not pay off the loan or change its terms. Federal law (the Garn-St. Germain Act) generally protects this type of estate planning transfer from triggering a due-on-sale clause, and your beneficiaries take the property subject to any remaining mortgage at the time of your death.

After death, federal mortgage servicing rules give a person who receives the home from a relative who was a borrower a path to be recognized by the servicer as a confirmed successor in interest. Once confirmed, the beneficiary can receive account information, apply for loss mitigation, and deal with any insurance proceeds the servicer is holding. Beneficiaries should contact the servicer early with the death certificate and the recorded Lady Bird Deed.

Sources: 12 U.S.C. § 1701j-3(d); 12 C.F.R. §§ 1024.31 and 1024.38 (Regulation X, successors in interest).

Homestead Exemption, Save Our Homes and Spousal Rights

A properly drafted Fort Myers Lady Bird Deed should not disturb your homestead exemption or your Save Our Homes assessment cap during your lifetime. You retain the enhanced life estate, you remain the owner of record with the Lee County Property Appraiser, and the cap resets on the change of ownership at death, the same as it would through probate or a trust.

On the constitutional side, Article X, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution provides that a married owner cannot convey homestead without the spouse joining in the deed, and that homestead cannot be devised away from a surviving spouse or a minor child. The joinder requirement applies when the deed is signed; the limit on devising homestead is applied based on the property and the family at death. A married Fort Myers couple normally signs the Lady Bird Deed together, naming the beneficiaries who take after the second death.

The stepped-up basis after a rebuild

Because you keep the enhanced powers, the property remains in your gross estate at death, which normally produces a stepped-up cost basis for your beneficiaries equal to the date-of-death value. For a house that was damaged, repaired and possibly elevated, that value can differ sharply from what you paid, and beneficiaries who sell soon after a death should have a qualified appraisal as of the date of death. Our capital gains guide explains why deeding the home to children during life gives the step-up away.

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 exposure on a Florida homestead.

Our full write-up is on the Florida Lady Bird Deed and Medicaid page.

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

Recording a Fort Myers Lady Bird Deed

In Lee County, deeds are recorded in the Official Records by the Lee County Clerk of Court & Comptroller, which serves as the county recorder. The Clerk’s recording office is in Fort Myers, the county seat. Deeds can also be submitted by mail or electronically; confirm current submission options with the Clerk before sending.

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. Deeds signed at a hospital or care facility without proper witnessing fail this test regularly, and the failure surfaces at death when it can no longer be corrected.

Recording fees and documentary stamp tax

Recording charges are $10.00 for the first page, $8.50 for each additional page, and $1.00 per name indexed beyond four names. Lee County applies the standard statewide documentary stamp rate of $0.70 per $100 of consideration on taxable deeds.

Whether the tax applies to this deed at all was addressed in Technical Assistance Advisement 20B4-004 (October 16, 2020), in which 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.

Sources: Lee County Clerk of Court & Comptroller, 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.

After a Death: What Your Family Actually Does

1. Order certified death certificates

   Several copies. The insurer, the servicer and the title company will each want one.

2. Record one against the property

   Recorded in the Lee County Official Records, this publicly establishes that the life estate has ended and the named beneficiaries hold title.

3. Call the property and flood insurers

   Ask how to keep coverage in force in the beneficiaries’ names, and get the status of any open claim in writing.

4. Contact the mortgage servicer

   Request recognition as a successor in interest, and ask what insurance proceeds the servicer is holding and what it needs to release them.

5. Take stock of the rebuild

   Gather the contract, permits, the notice of commencement and payment records, and decide with counsel whether the estate needs to be opened to collect proceeds or settle with the contractor.

6. 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.

What is not on that list, for the house itself: a probate case, a personal representative, publication of notice to creditors, or a creditor claim period. Our after-death guide covers each step in detail.

What a Lady Bird Deed Does Not Do

How a Fort Myers Lady Bird Deed Compares to the Alternatives

The full breakdown is on the Florida Lady Bird Deed comparison page.

How to Get a Fort Myers Lady Bird Deed

1. List what is still open

   Any insurance or flood claim, appraisal or lawsuit, construction contract, permit, and repair loan. This decides whether the deed alone is enough.

2. Confirm the deed fits your goals

   How the property is titled, who you want to receive it, whether you are married, and whether there is a minor child.

3. Pull the vesting deed and parcel number

   The exact legal description from the last recorded deed in the Lee County Official Records, plus the parcel identification from the Lee County Property Appraiser.

4. Check recorded liens and the notice of commencement

   Anything recorded during a rebuild stays with the property and should be known before drafting.

5. Draft the enhanced life estate reservation

   Reserving your power to sell, convey, mortgage, lease and revoke without the beneficiaries’ consent.

6. Sign with two witnesses and a notary

   Both witnesses present and signing. A married owner’s spouse joins the deed on homestead property.

7. Record with the Lee County Clerk

   In the Official Records, for $10.00 for the first page and $8.50 per additional page.

Our fee for preparing the deed is a flat $595; with recording, the typical total is $619.85. See pricing for what is included.

Fort Myers Communities We Serve

We prepare Lady Bird Deeds for property throughout Fort Myers and Lee County, including:

• Downtown River District
• McGregor Boulevard corridor
• Edison Park
• Dunbar
• Whiskey Creek
• Cypress Lake
• Iona
• Villas
• Gateway
• San Carlos Park
• Fort Myers Shores
• North Fort Myers
• Fort Myers Beach
• Sanibel
• Captiva
• Pine Island
• Estero
• Bonita Springs
• Lehigh Acres
• Buckingham

Nearby Areas We Serve

• Cape Coral: Lee County canal homes that saw dramatic appreciation after 2020.

• Lee County: recording with the Lee County Clerk and planning across the county.

• Naples: snowbirds, second homes and avoiding Florida ancillary probate.

• Port Charlotte: vacant lots and non-homestead property owned from out of state.

• Sarasota County: recording and planning further up the Gulf Coast.

Browse every market on our areas we serve page, or read our Florida Lady Bird Deed guides.