Parkland Lady Bird Deed Frequently Asked Questions
I have young children. Can I put a Lady Bird Deed on my Parkland house?
If you have a child under 18, Florida's constitution does not permit you to devise your homestead, and a Lady Bird Deed naming anyone other than that child generally fails as to the homestead. This surprises almost everyone, because it is a restriction on what you may do with your own house. It is tested at your death, not at signing, so a deed recorded today can look perfectly valid for fifteen years and then not work. This does not mean nothing can be done. It means the plan is built around the restriction rather than ignoring it.
Why does Florida stop me leaving my house to whoever I want?
The restriction comes from Article X, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution, and its purpose is protective rather than punitive. Florida homestead law exists to keep families housed, and part of that scheme prevents an owner directing the home away from a surviving spouse or a minor child. The same body of law gives your homestead very strong protection from creditors. The protection and the restriction are two sides of the same provision, and you do not get to keep one without the other.
So what happens to the house if I die with a minor child?
It descends under Fla. Stat. § 732.401. If you are survived by a spouse and one or more descendants, the surviving spouse takes a life estate in the homestead with a vested remainder to your descendants living at your death, per stirpes. In place of the life estate, the surviving spouse may elect to take an undivided one-half interest as a tenant in common, with the other half vesting in those descendants. That election must be made within six months after death and during the surviving spouse's lifetime, so it is a real deadline rather than a formality.
What is wrong with my child owning a share of the house?
A minor can hold title, but a minor cannot convey it. If the surviving parent needs to sell the home or refinance it, and a minor child holds an interest, that generally requires a court-appointed guardian of the property for the child and court approval of the transaction. It is a proceeding, with costs and reporting obligations, on the very asset a family often needs to move quickly after a death. That is the practical harm, and it lands on the surviving spouse at the worst possible time.
Can I just have the surviving parent handle it as natural guardian?
Only within narrow limits. Under Fla. Stat. § 744.301(2), natural guardians may collect, receive, manage and dispose of certain proceeds accruing to their minor children without a court appointment, but only where the amounts received in the aggregate do not exceed $15,000. That provision is about money reaching a child, not about title to real estate, and it does not give a parent authority to sign away a minor's interest in a house. On a Parkland home the figures involved are far beyond it in any event.
What should we do instead?
Usually a trust does the work the deed cannot. A properly drafted revocable trust can hold the home, keep it out of probate, provide for the surviving spouse, and hold a child's share in trust until an age you choose rather than handing it to them at 18. Life insurance can equalize between children without forcing a sale. Non-homestead assets can be directed where you want them, because the devise restriction reaches only the constitutional homestead. And the restriction ends when your youngest child turns 18, at which point a Lady Bird Deed becomes available.
Does the restriction apply if my spouse and I own the house together?
Property held by a married couple as tenants by the entireties, which is the usual arrangement for Florida married homeowners, passes automatically to the surviving spouse at the first death by operation of law. Fla. Stat. § 732.401 states that it does not apply to property held in tenancy by the entireties or in joint tenancy with rights of survivorship. So the descent rules generally arrive at the second death rather than the first. That is a reason to look closely at how title is actually held rather than assuming.
Where is a Lady Bird Deed recorded for Parkland property?
In the Broward County Official Records. Broward is unusual in that deeds are recorded by the county Records, Taxes & Treasury Division rather than the Clerk of the Circuit Court. The counter is at the Broward County Governmental Center, 115 South Andrews Avenue, Room 114, Fort Lauderdale, generally open 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. weekdays. Deeds may also be mailed or submitted through an approved e-recording provider.
Will a Parkland Lady Bird Deed affect my homestead exemption?
A properly drafted deed should not affect your homestead exemption or your Save Our Homes assessment cap during your lifetime. You retain an enhanced life estate, you remain in possession, and the Broward County Property Appraiser continues to treat you as the owner of record. The cap resets at your death on the change of ownership, which happens with or without the deed.
Do my beneficiaries get a stepped-up basis?
Generally yes. Because you keep the enhanced powers, the property remains in your gross estate at death, which normally produces a stepped-up cost basis, meaning their basis becomes the date-of-death value rather than what you paid. On a Parkland home this is often the single most valuable feature of the deed. Deeding the home to a child during your lifetime typically forfeits it. Confirm the treatment with a tax advisor.
Can a Parkland Lady Bird Deed be changed or revoked later?
Yes. You can sell the property, refinance it, lease it, add or remove beneficiaries, or revoke the deed entirely without the consent of the people named to receive it. A new deed is prepared and recorded to make the change effective. For a young family that flexibility matters, because the people you would name today are unlikely to be the arrangement you want twenty years from now.
More general questions are answered on our Florida Lady Bird Deed FAQ page.
