Lee County 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

Lee County Lady Bird Deed Attorney

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

Lee County owners bring three situations to us more than any others. The first is the canal home: Cape Coral’s waterfront lots with seawalls, docks and boat lifts, many bought decades ago and now worth many times their purchase price. The second is the rebuild: a home damaged by Hurricane Ian in 2022, or a later storm, that is repaired, being repaired, or still waiting on permits, insurance and contractors. The third is the snowbird: an owner whose legal home is in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois or Ontario and who spends the winter in Fort Myers, Bonita Springs or on the islands.

The deed is the same in all three. What it protects, and what the family needs to know alongside it, differs. This page covers the Lee County machinery every owner shares, then each of those situations in turn.

What Is a Lee County Lady Bird Deed?

A Lee County 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 here more than most places. After a major storm, owners make large decisions quickly: sell the damaged house as-is to an investor, take a construction loan to rebuild, or list the lot. Under a traditional life estate deed, each of those would need every beneficiary’s signature. An enhanced life estate deed reserves the power to sell, convey, mortgage, lease and revoke without their consent, so the person deciding what to do with the property is still you.

Owners from the Midwest sometimes ask for a “transfer on death deed” like the one available back home. Florida has not enacted a transfer on death deed statute for real property; its transfer on death registration law (Fla. Stat. ch. 711) covers securities. The Lady Bird Deed is the Florida instrument. See our transfer on death deed guide and the comparison with wills, trusts and quitclaim deeds.

Recording a Lady Bird Deed in Lee County

In Lee County the Clerk serves as County Recorder. Deeds are recorded in the Official Records of the Lee County Clerk of Court & Comptroller, whose recording office is in downtown Fort Myers at 2115 Second Street. Deeds can also be mailed or submitted through an approved e-recording provider, which is how we normally record.

Lee County has been at the front of Florida’s fight against deed fraud. It was the state’s pilot county for the identity verification program created by the 2023 real property fraud law, under which the Clerk required government-issued photo identification when a deed was presented for recording. Bring yours if you record in person. The Clerk also offers a free Property Fraud Alert that emails you when a document is recorded under your name. After a storm, when owners are displaced and out-of-town “buyers” circulate, that alert is worth having.

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). Since January 1, 2024, Florida has also required the post-office address of each witness on the deed. Snowbirds should note that some states do not require witnesses on their own deeds. Florida does, and a deed signed before an out-of-state notary with no witnesses is defective here, however routine that form may be back home.

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. 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.

Sources: Lee County Clerk of Court & Comptroller, Official Records; CS/CS/HB 1419 (2023), Real Property Fraud; Florida Department of Revenue Technical Assistance Advisement 20B4-004 (Oct. 16, 2020); Fla. Stat. ch. 201; Fla. Stat. § 28.24; Fla. Stat. §§ 689.01, 695.03, 695.26.

Twentieth Circuit Probate: What the Deed Lets Your Family Skip

Lee County is part of Florida’s Twentieth Judicial Circuit, which also covers Charlotte, Collier, Glades and Hendry Counties. Lee County probate cases are filed through the statewide e-filing portal and heard at the Lee County Justice Center, 1700 Monroe Street, Fort Myers, with case files kept by the Clerk.

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. It is still a court case, and a homestead usually still needs its own order before title is marketable. A Lady Bird Deed takes the home out of it.

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

The Lee County Property Appraiser administers the homestead exemption, the Save Our Homes assessment cap and portability. A Lady Bird Deed does not need the Property Appraiser’s approval, but it interacts with each of those benefits.

• Your exemption stays. Florida treats the holder of a life estate as an owner for homestead purposes (Fla. Stat. § 196.041), so a properly drafted deed should not disturb your exemption or your Save Our Homes cap.

• The cap resets at death. On a Cape Coral canal home bought decades ago, the gap between capped and market value can be large, and your beneficiaries’ tax bill will reflect it. That is true with or without the deed.

• Apply by March 1. The statewide deadline for a homestead application. A beneficiary who moves in applies in their own name.

• Portability is yours. If you sell and buy another Florida homestead, you can generally transfer up to $500,000 of accumulated Save Our Homes benefit, provided you establish the new homestead within three years. Owners who sold a damaged home and bought elsewhere in Florida have used exactly this. A new home needs a new deed; the old one does not follow you.

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 couple normally signs the deed together, naming the beneficiaries who take after the second death.

Because you keep the enhanced powers, 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 canal home that has appreciated dramatically, 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. See our capital gains guide.

Hurricane Damage and Rebuilding: How the Deed Fits

Hurricane Ian came ashore in Lee County in September 2022, and many owners are still living with its aftermath: repairs completed, repairs in progress, or decisions not yet made. Estate planning tends to be the last thing on anyone’s list during a rebuild. It should not be, because a death in the middle of one is precisely when probate hurts most.

The deed conveys the land, whatever is standing on it

A deed describes a parcel by its recorded legal description: lot, block and subdivision. The house is part of that parcel, but the deed does not depend on it. A Lady Bird Deed signed on a home that is later damaged, demolished or rebuilt still conveys the parcel, and whatever stands on it at your death, to your beneficiaries. There is no need to re-sign after a rebuild unless the legal description itself changes, for example after combining lots.

Insurance proceeds and claims are not the house

This is the point families most often miss. An insurance claim, an unpaid settlement or a check payable to you is personal property, not real property. If you die with a claim open or proceeds in your account, that money does not automatically follow the deed to your beneficiaries. Depending on how it is held, it can end up in your probate estate. If you are mid-claim, talk to us about how those proceeds are held and who is named on what.

Your homestead while the house is uninhabitable

Florida law lets a homestead exemption continue when the home is damaged or destroyed by misfortune or calamity and is uninhabitable on January 1, provided you notify the Property Appraiser that you intend to repair or rebuild and live there, and you claim no other homestead. Repair or rebuilding must begin within three years after the January 1 following the damage, or the homestead is treated as abandoned (Fla. Stat. § 196.031). Separately, a rebuilt homestead generally keeps its pre-damage capped assessed value, and under a 2025 amendment beginning with the 2026 tax roll the rebuild can be up to 130% of the original square footage or 2,000 square feet, whichever is greater, before the excess is assessed at market value (Fla. Stat. § 193.155(4)(b)). The Lady Bird Deed does not interfere with either rule, because you remain the owner of record.

Selling instead of rebuilding

Many owners decide to sell a damaged house as-is. With an enhanced life estate deed you sign that contract alone; your beneficiaries do not join. A home in a flood zone that is substantially damaged, generally meaning repair costs of 50% or more of the structure’s market value, may have to be elevated or rebuilt to current flood standards, which is often what drives the decision to sell. Our guide to selling or refinancing with a Lady Bird Deed covers the closing side.

Sources: Fla. Stat. §§ 193.155(4)(b) (as amended by CS/CS/SB 180 (2025)), 196.031; 44 C.F.R. § 59.1 (substantial damage). Flood elevation requirements are applied by the local floodplain administrator; confirm with your city or Lee County before relying on any general rule.

Canal Homes: Docks, Lifts and Seawalls

Cape Coral’s canal system defines Lee County’s housing market, and canal homes raise a few questions that dry lots do not.

Seawall condition is the canal owner’s version of a condominium special assessment: a cost that follows the property to whoever inherits it. A seawall that failed in a storm and has not been replaced is worth disclosing to your beneficiaries now. Our Fort Lauderdale guide looks in depth at whether docks and boat slips actually pass with a waterfront home, and our Cape Coral guide covers the appreciation that makes the stepped-up basis so valuable there.

Snowbirds: Avoiding a Second Probate in Florida

When someone dies domiciled in another state while owning Florida real estate, the estate is administered at home, but the Florida property generally requires its own ancillary administration in the Florida county where it sits (Fla. Stat. § 734.102). For a snowbird with a Fort Myers condo or a Bonita Springs villa, that is a second probate case in the Twentieth Circuit, with a Florida attorney and Florida creditor procedures, on top of the one back home.

A Lady Bird Deed avoids it. The beneficiaries record a death certificate with the Lee County Clerk and take title. For seasonal owners, this is often the deed’s single biggest benefit.

• Sign it correctly up north. Florida requires two witnesses plus a notary. Some home states do not, and their notaries may not know to ask.

• Homestead depends on domicile. If your permanent home is elsewhere, you generally cannot claim the Florida homestead exemption, and the Florida constitutional homestead restrictions generally do not apply to a vacation property.

• Each state’s property needs its own instrument. The Florida deed covers Florida land. Your home state’s property needs whatever that state recognizes, which may be a transfer on death deed there.

• Vacant months matter. Seasonal homes sit empty for months, which affects insurance and makes the Clerk’s Property Fraud Alert worth having.

Our Miami Beach guide covers ancillary probate in more depth, and our Palm Beach County guide covers domicile for seasonal residents on the other coast.

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 limits that 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 estate recovery exposure on a Florida homestead. It does not qualify anyone for Medicaid, the five-year look-back still applies to other transfers, including an outright gift of the home, and the protection depends on the home keeping homestead status and passing to heirs. 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.; Fla. Stat. § 734.102.

After a Death: What Your Family Does in Lee County

1. Order certified death certificates

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

2. Record one with the Lee County Clerk

   In the Official Records, in person in Fort Myers, by mail or by e-recording. This establishes that the life estate has ended and the beneficiaries hold title.

3. Notify the insurer immediately

   In a hurricane-exposed county this is urgent. Coverage on a vacant or newly inherited home needs to be confirmed before the next storm season, not after it.

4. Pick up any open permit or claim

   If a rebuild was underway, the beneficiaries need the contractor, permit and claim details. Proceeds payable to the decedent may need separate handling.

5. 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: a Twentieth Circuit petition, a Florida ancillary case, a personal representative, or published notice to creditors. Our guide to what happens after the owner dies covers each step.

How to Get a Lee County Lady Bird Deed

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

1. Confirm your domicile and the deed’s fit

   Whether Florida is your permanent home, how the property is titled, who you want to receive it, whether you are married, and whether there is a minor child.

2. Identify every parcel

   Canal owners often hold an adjoining lot under a separate parcel number. Each parcel you want to pass needs to be described in a deed.

3. Pull the vesting deed and STRAP number

   The new deed must carry the exact legal description from the last recorded deed in the Lee County Official Records, together with the parcel identification from the Lee County Property Appraiser.

4. 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.

5. Sign before two witnesses and a notary

   Florida requires two subscribing witnesses, with their post-office addresses, and a notary acknowledgment, even if you sign in a state that requires no witnesses. A married owner’s spouse joins on homestead property.

6. Record with the Lee County Clerk

   Record in the Lee County Official Records at the Clerk’s Fort Myers recording office, by mail, or by e-recording, at $10.00 for the first page and $8.50 for each additional page.

7. Sign up for the Property Fraud Alert

   Register with the Lee County Clerk’s free alert so you are notified if any document is recorded under your name.

Cities We Serve in Lee County

We prepare Lady Bird Deeds for property anywhere in Lee County. These city guides go deeper on the questions that come up most in each market.

Not listed? Owners in Bonita Springs, Estero, Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel, Lehigh Acres, North Fort Myers and every other Lee County community record with the same Clerk and face the same Twentieth Circuit probate court. Our guides to Naples and Sarasota County cover the neighboring markets.

Nearby Areas We Serve

Many Lee County families also own, or are inheriting, property elsewhere along the Gulf coast.

• Naples: Collier County, in the same Twentieth Judicial Circuit as Lee.
• Port Charlotte: Charlotte County, also in the Twentieth Circuit, just north of Cape Coral.
• Sarasota County: the county-level guide for the next market up the coast.
• Venice: a South Sarasota County retirement market.
• Sarasota: the city guide for Sarasota homeowners.

Browse every market on our areas we serve page.