Miami-Dade 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

Miami-Dade County Lady Bird Deed Attorney

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

Miami-Dade is one of the most international counties in the United States, and that shapes the estate planning conversation here more than any other single fact. Owners were born in Cuba, Venezuela, Colombia, Nicaragua, Haiti, Argentina, Brazil and dozens of other countries. Their children may live in Madrid, Bogotá or New York. A spouse may hold a green card rather than a passport. The family may speak Spanish, Haitian Creole or Portuguese at the dinner table and English only at the bank.

None of that changes how a Lady Bird Deed works. It changes why it matters. A Florida probate case is a hardship for any family; for one whose heirs live abroad it can mean hiring Florida counsel from another time zone, authenticating foreign documents, and discovering that the person everyone assumed would handle things is not legally allowed to. This page is the county-level guide to the deed, written with those families in mind. Our Miami city guide goes deeper on condominiums and the estate tax rule for a non-citizen spouse.

What Is a Miami-Dade County Lady Bird Deed?

A Miami-Dade County Lady Bird Deed is the common name for a Florida enhanced life estate deed recorded on property in Miami-Dade 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.

Under a traditional life estate deed you could not sell or mortgage without every beneficiary signing. When one of those beneficiaries lives in Spain or Venezuela, that means a consular appointment and an international courier for every refinance. 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, and nothing about your own control of the property depends on where they live.

Families from countries that use a notarial “transfer at death” system sometimes ask whether Florida has a transfer on death deed. Florida has not enacted a transfer on death deed statute for real property; its transfer on death registration law (Fla. Stat. ch. 711) applies to securities. The Lady Bird Deed fills that role in Florida. See our Florida transfer on death deed guide and the comparison of Lady Bird Deeds, wills, trusts and quitclaim deeds.

Recording a Lady Bird Deed in Miami-Dade County

In Miami-Dade, deeds are recorded in the Miami-Dade County Official Records, maintained by the Clerk of the Court and Comptroller. The County Recorder’s office is on the first floor of Courthouse East, 22 NW First Street, Miami, Florida 33128, open weekdays. 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 within a day or two.

Execution requirements, including signing abroad

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 each witness’s post-office address on deeds recorded here.

An owner who is overseas does not have to fly home to sign. Florida law recognizes an acknowledgment taken in a foreign country before a notary public of that country, a civil-law notary, or a United States consular officer such as a consul or vice consul (Fla. Stat. § 695.03(3)). The two-witness requirement still applies, and the formalities are where deeds signed abroad go wrong: a foreign notary who uses a local-format certificate, a single witness, or a missing seal. Title companies also commonly expect a foreign notarization to carry an apostille. We send the deed with signing instructions written for the country where it will be signed.

Recording fees

Recording charges are the same core amounts statewide: $10.00 for the first page, $8.50 for each additional page, and $1.00 per name indexed beyond four names. A typical Lady Bird Deed runs two to three pages.

Documentary stamp tax: the Miami-Dade exception

Miami-Dade is the only Florida county that does not use the standard deed rate. Everywhere else, documentary stamp tax on a deed is $0.70 per $100 of consideration. In Miami-Dade the rate is $0.60 per $100, plus a discretionary surtax of $0.45 per $100 on documents conveying property other than a single-family residence (Fla. Stat. §§ 201.02 and 201.031). Section 201.031 treats a condominium unit, a qualifying cooperative unit and a detached dwelling as single-family residences for this purpose, so the surtax is mainly a question on duplexes, multi-unit buildings, commercial property and land.

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, and where a Miami-Dade property carries a mortgage some closing agents still take a conservative position, so the question is worth settling before recording.

Sources: Miami-Dade County Clerk of the Court and Comptroller, County Recorder; Fla. Stat. §§ 201.02, 201.031; Fla. Admin. Code R. 12B-4.012; Florida Department of Revenue Technical Assistance Advisement 20B4-004 (Oct. 16, 2020); Fla. Stat. § 28.24; Fla. Stat. §§ 689.01, 695.03, 695.26.

Eleventh Circuit Probate: What the Deed Lets Your Family Skip

Probate in Miami-Dade is handled by the Probate Division of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit at the Osvaldo N. Soto Miami-Dade Justice Center, 20 NW 1st Avenue in downtown Miami. It is among the highest-volume probate dockets in Florida. Formal administration commonly takes six months to well over a year, and every step of it is harder from abroad.

A properly drafted Lady Bird Deed takes the home out of every one of those rows. Your beneficiaries record a certified death certificate in the Official Records, and they hold title.

New for 2026: the summary administration ceiling doubled

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 proceeding, though, and a Miami-Dade homestead typically still needs its own petition and order determining homestead status before title is marketable. The deed avoids that step for the house.

The Miami-Dade Property Appraiser: Homestead, Save Our Homes and Portability

The Miami-Dade 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.

• Citizenship is not required, permanent residence is. A non-citizen who makes Florida property their permanent home in good faith can qualify. A person here on a temporary visa cannot (Fla. Admin. Code R. 12D-7.007).

• The cap resets at death. Save Our Homes does not pass to beneficiaries under a deed, a will or a trust.

• Heirs abroad will pay non-homestead taxes. A beneficiary living overseas cannot claim the homestead exemption on a house they do not live in, so the tax bill will rise after the change of ownership. Budget for it.

• 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. The deed’s power to sell keeps that option open.

The constitutional homestead rules apply too. 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.

Heirs Abroad and Foreign-Born Owners

This is the section most Miami-Dade families need, and the part no form deed addresses. A Lady Bird Deed is a Florida instrument that conveys Florida land. For an international family, its value is that it lets the Florida piece of the estate settle itself while everything else is handled where it sits.

The stepped-up basis is worth singling out. Because you keep the enhanced powers, the property remains in your gross estate at death, so your beneficiaries normally take a basis equal to the date-of-death value. For a family that will sell the Miami-Dade house and bring the proceeds to another country, that step-up can eliminate most of the capital gain accumulated over decades. Deeding the home to a child now generally forfeits it. See our capital gains guide.

Sources: Fla. Stat. §§ 695.03, 732.901, 733.304; Internal Revenue Code §§ 1014 (basis of inherited property), 1445 (FIRPTA withholding), 2102(b) (unified credit for nonresident decedents). Federal tax rules change and individual facts vary; coordinate with a qualified tax advisor.

When Your Spouse Is Not a US Citizen

Many Miami-Dade marriages include a spouse who holds a green card rather than a US passport. Ordinarily, property passing to a surviving spouse qualifies for the unlimited federal marital deduction. That deduction is generally not available where the surviving spouse is not a US citizen, unless the property passes through a qualified domestic trust (QDOT). A Lady Bird Deed naming a non-citizen spouse passes the home outright; it does not create a QDOT.

In practice this only matters above the federal estate tax threshold, which for decedents dying in 2026 is a basic exclusion amount of $15,000,000 per person. Most Miami-Dade estates never reach it, and for them the deed is a complete answer to the probate question. Families with substantial assets, or property in several countries, should treat the deed as one piece of a plan that includes a trust. Our Miami guide walks through the QDOT rules, the annual gift exclusion for a non-citizen spouse, and why citizenship at death, not at signing, is what counts.

Multilingual Families: Making Sure Everyone Understands the Deed

The deed we prepare is written in English, the language of the Official Records and of the title examiners who will rely on it years from now. The person signing it, however, has to understand what it does. When an owner reads English comfortably but thinks in Spanish, Creole or Portuguese, a few practical steps protect the deed:

• Explain it in the owner’s language before signing. A deed later challenged for lack of understanding is a lawsuit among your children. A clear explanation, with a qualified interpreter where needed, is the cheapest protection there is.

• Let the owner speak for themselves. The adult child who arranges the appointment should not be the one translating, especially if that child is a beneficiary. Courts look closely at deeds where a beneficiary was active in procuring them. Our Coral Springs guide covers capacity and undue influence.

• Check the names, spelling and accents. An accent dropped or a surname order reversed can create a mismatch between the deed, the passport and the death certificate. Title companies notice.

Our Hialeah guide goes further on signing in the language you speak, and on family property with more than one unit.

Medicaid and Estate Recovery

Florida limits Medicaid estate recovery to assets passing through the probate estate, and it 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, and the protection depends on the home keeping homestead status and passing to heirs. Read our full guide to Lady Bird Deeds and Florida Medicaid.

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, Even From Abroad

1. Order certified death certificates

   From the Florida Department of Health for a death in Florida. A death abroad produces a foreign certificate, which may need an apostille and a certified translation.

2. Record one in the Miami-Dade Official Records

   This publicly establishes that the life estate has ended and the named beneficiaries hold title. It can be done by mail or e-recording, without anyone flying in.

3. 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.

4. Notify the insurer and any association

   Both need to know who owns the property and whether it is occupied. Vacant property has different coverage requirements.

5. Decide together what happens next

   Multiple beneficiaries take undivided shares. If they live in different countries, agreeing early on whether to keep, rent or sell avoids a partition fight later.

What is not on that list: a petition in the Eleventh Circuit, a personal representative who must qualify under Florida’s nonresident rules, published notice to creditors, or an order determining homestead. More on each step in our guide to what happens after the owner dies.

What a Miami-Dade County Lady Bird Deed Does Not Do

How to Get a Miami-Dade County Lady Bird Deed

Our flat fee covers drafting and the signing and recording instructions. Here is the sequence for a Miami-Dade property.

1. Confirm the deed fits your goals

   Review how the property is titled, who you want to receive it, whether you are married, whether your spouse is a US citizen, and whether there is a minor child.

2. Collect full legal names

   Gather each beneficiary’s full legal name exactly as it appears on their passport, and confirm the owner’s name matches the last recorded deed.

3. Pull the vesting deed and folio number

   The new deed must carry the exact legal description from the last recorded deed in the Miami-Dade County Official Records, together with the folio number from the Miami-Dade 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. Explain the deed in the owner’s language

   Make sure the owner understands the deed before signing, using a qualified interpreter rather than a beneficiary where needed.

6. Sign before two witnesses and a notary

   Florida requires two subscribing witnesses, with their post-office addresses, and a notary acknowledgment. An owner abroad can sign before a foreign notary or a US consular officer, still with two witnesses.

7. Record in the Miami-Dade Official Records

   Record with the Clerk of the Court and Comptroller at Courthouse East, 22 NW First Street, by mail, or by e-recording, at $10.00 for the first page and $8.50 for each additional page.

Cities We Serve in Miami-Dade County

We prepare Lady Bird Deeds for property anywhere in Miami-Dade County. Each city guide answers the question that comes up most in that market.

Not listed? Owners in Coral Gables, Aventura, Sunny Isles Beach, Pinecrest, Palmetto Bay, Cutler Bay, North Miami and every other Miami-Dade community record in the same Official Records and face the same Eleventh Circuit probate court. Our Broward County guide covers the county to the north.

Nearby Areas We Serve

Many Miami-Dade families also own, or are inheriting, property just over the county line.

• Broward County: deeds recorded by Records, Taxes and Treasury rather than the Clerk.
• Palm Beach County: 55+ condominiums and seasonal residents.
• Hallandale Beach: oceanfront condominiums, inherited assessments and milestone inspections.
• Miramar: foreign wills, and why a handwritten will valid abroad is not valid in Florida.
• Hollywood: an older market where Medicaid estate recovery and clouded title matter most.

Browse every market on our areas we serve page.