West Palm Beach Lady Bird Deed Attorney

For Homes, Condominiums and the Rental Property Nobody Plans For

Almost every Lady Bird Deed article assumes the property is your homestead.
In West Palm Beach it very often is not.

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

West Palm Beach Lady Bird Deed Attorney

A West Palm Beach Lady Bird Deed, known formally as a Florida enhanced life estate deed, lets your property pass directly to the beneficiaries you name at your death, with no Palm Beach County probate case on that parcel. Nothing changes while you are alive: you stay on title, you keep any homestead exemption you have, and you can live in the property, rent it, refinance it, sell it, or revoke the deed entirely.

West Palm Beach has the lowest owner-occupancy rate of any market on this site at 43.1%. The median owner-occupied home is worth $413,200, median household income is $70,231, 17.0% of residents are 65 or older, and 31.2% are foreign-born.

That first number is the reason this page reads differently from the others. A city where most housing is rented is a city where a lot of people own property they do not live in. And nearly every rule you have read about Lady Bird Deeds quietly assumes the opposite. Take away homestead status and the creditor protection disappears, the restriction on who you can leave it to disappears, the assessment cap changes, and the property starts counting toward a probate threshold it was previously exempt from.

West Palm Beach Lady Bird Deed: the short version

  • What it does: names beneficiaries who receive the property automatically at death, outside of probate.
  • What you keep: full control for life, with the freedom to sell, rent, refinance, or revoke without anyone's permission.
  • It works on a rental. The deed does not require the parcel to be your homestead.
  • The big one: non-homestead property counts toward the summary administration ceiling. Protected homestead does not.
  • You have more freedom, not less. The devise restriction protecting a spouse or minor child reaches the homestead, not a rental.
  • Where it records: the Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller, unlike Broward next door.

What Is a West Palm Beach Lady Bird Deed?

A West Palm Beach Lady Bird Deed is the common name for a Florida enhanced life estate deed recorded on property in Palm Beach 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.

For an owner of investment property the enhancement is not a nicety, it is the whole reason the instrument is usable. Under a traditional life estate deed you could not sell or mortgage without every named beneficiary signing. Nobody holding a rental can accept that: the point of the asset is that you can refinance it, sell it or restructure it when the market or your circumstances say so. An enhanced life estate deed reserves the power to sell, convey, mortgage, lease and revoke without their consent.

The recording formalities come from Fla. Stat. §§ 689.01 and 695.03. The enhanced reservation itself is a creature of Florida practice and title custom rather than a statute written for it, which is why the wording matters so much.

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

West Palm Beach Lady Bird Deed attorney helping Palm Beach County owners avoid probate

When the Property Is Not Your Homestead

Florida homestead is not one thing, it is two things wearing the same word. There is the tax homestead, the exemption and the Save Our Homes cap administered by the Property Appraiser. And there is the constitutional homestead under Article X, Section 4, which is a creditor shield and a restriction on transfer. Both require the property to be your permanent residence.

A rental, a second property, a unit you bought for a child to live in, a parcel held for appreciation: none of these are your homestead. Homestead status is a question of fact, resting on permanent residency, actual occupancy and intent, not on preference or on what would be convenient. Here is what changes.

The same deed, two very different sets of surrounding rules.
 Your homesteadA rental or investment parcel
Does a Lady Bird Deed work on it?YesYes
Constitutional creditor protectionYes, and it is strongNo
Can you leave it to anyone you choose?Not with a surviving spouse or minor childYes
Must a spouse join in the deed?Yes, whether or not on titleGenerally not, subject to how title is held
Counts toward the summary administration ceilingNo, protected homestead is exemptYes, at full value
Assessment capSave Our Homes, 3% or CPIA separate 10% cap, with different rules and exclusions
Medicaid estate recovery exposureReduced where it passes to heirs outside probateDifferent analysis; it is a countable asset for eligibility
Stepped-up basis at deathYesYes, and often worth more after depreciation

Read the third row twice. The constitutional restriction that stops a Florida owner devising the family home away from a spouse or minor child reaches the homestead and not other real property. So a West Palm Beach owner with a young child who cannot effectively use a Lady Bird Deed on the house can use one on the rental. That asymmetry is genuinely useful and it is almost never mentioned. Our Parkland page works through the homestead side of it.

Sources: Art. X, § 4, Fla. Const. (homestead exemption from forced sale and restrictions on devise); Art. VII, § 4, Fla. Const. (assessment limitations, including the separate cap on non-homestead property); Fla. Stat. § 735.201 (summary administration and the non-exempt asset ceiling); Fla. Stat. § 196.031 (homestead exemption). Whether particular property qualifies as homestead is determined on the facts.

West Palm Beach Estate Planning Snapshot

The lowest owner-occupancy rate on this site, in the county seat, where a large share of owned property is not owner-occupied.

  • 17.0% of West Palm Beach residents are age 65+
  • 43.1% of housing units are owner-occupied
  • $413,200 median value of owner-occupied housing
  • $70,231 median household income
  • 31.2% of residents are foreign-born
  • 45.0% speak a language other than English at home

At 43.1%, owner-occupancy here is the lowest of any market covered on this site, below Lauderdale Lakes and barely half of Weston's. The majority of housing in West Palm Beach is rented, which by definition means somebody else owns it.

Combine that with a median owner-occupied value of $413,200 and the picture is clear: a substantial number of local owners hold more than one parcel, and the second one is the one their estate plan has never mentioned.

West Palm Beach is also the county seat. The courthouse, the Clerk's main recording counter and the probate division all sit downtown, which makes the difference between a filed court case and a recorded deed unusually visible here.

Demographic figures: U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, West Palm Beach city, Florida (most recent American Community Survey five-year estimates available at publication).

Chart of the West Palm Beach median home price trend over the past decade, used for Palm Beach County estate planning and West Palm Beach Lady Bird Deed research
West Palm Beach median home price trend (past decade)
On depreciated rental property, the stepped-up basis is frequently the largest single benefit of the deed.
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Why One Rental Pushes an Estate Into Formal Administration

This is the most consequential thing on this page, and it turns on a single word in the summary administration statute.

Fla. Stat. § 735.201 allows summary administration, the shortened probate route, where the value of the non-exempt estate does not exceed a statutory ceiling. Effective 1 July 2026, CS/SB 1500 raised that ceiling from $75,000 to $150,000, applying to decedents who die on or after that date.

Protected homestead is exempt, so a house does not count toward the ceiling however valuable it is. That is why a Palm Beach family can sometimes use summary administration on an estate containing a substantial home.

A rental is not protected homestead. Its full value counts. In a market where the median owner-occupied value is $413,200, a single rental property will usually put an estate straight past $150,000 on its own, and into formal administration: a personal representative, publication of notice to creditors, a claim period, and the full sequence.

Same family, same total wealth, different route. The variable is what is exempt.
EstateCounts toward the ceiling?Likely route
$413,200 homestead, $40,000 in accountsOnly the $40,000Summary administration may be available
$413,200 rental, $40,000 in accountsAll $453,200Formal administration
Homestead plus one rentalThe rental, at full valueFormal administration
Rental held under a Lady Bird DeedNot in the estate at allNothing to administer for that parcel

So the conclusion runs opposite to the usual assumption. People think of a Lady Bird Deed as something you do for the family home. In West Palm Beach, the rental is often where the deed earns the most, because the rental is the asset that would otherwise drag the whole estate into the long route.

There is a second point worth knowing. Summary administration remains available at any estate value once more than two years have passed since the date of death, because the creditor claim period has run. That helps families who did nothing at the time, and it is covered on our Lauderdale Lakes page.

Sources: Fla. Stat. § 735.201 (summary administration; non-exempt asset ceiling; availability more than two years after death); CS/SB 1500 (2026), raising the ceiling to $150,000 effective July 1, 2026 for decedents dying on or after that date; Art. X, § 4, Fla. Const. (protected homestead); Fla. Stat. ch. 733 (formal administration). Values used above are illustrative.

Tenants, Leases and Security Deposits

A lease does not end because the owner died. Your beneficiaries step into the position of landlord and inherit the obligations that come with it, on day one, whether or not anyone has explained them.

That includes the security deposit, which under Florida law must be held and accounted for in a particular way, and which the new owner becomes responsible for. It includes the notice requirements for ending or not renewing a tenancy. And it includes the ordinary landlord duties on maintenance and habitability, which do not pause for a bereavement.

None of this is a reason to avoid the deed. It is a reason to leave the paperwork somewhere findable:

  • The current lease, and any addenda or renewals
  • The security deposit, and which account holds it
  • The property manager's details, if there is one
  • The mortgage, insurance and tax accounts for that parcel
  • Any association the property belongs to, and what it charges

A beneficiary who receives a rental with a tidy file is receiving an asset. One who receives it without any of that is receiving a problem that happens to have value attached.

West Palm Beach Lady Bird Deed lawyer reviewing a lease and title before drafting

If the Property Is Your Homestead

Everything above is about the parcel you do not live in. For the one you do, the ordinary rules apply and they are worth stating.

A properly drafted West Palm Beach 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 in possession, and the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser continues to treat you as the owner of record. The cap resets on the change of ownership at death, the same as it would through probate or a trust.

Article X, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution provides that a married owner cannot convey homestead without the spouse joining in the deed, whether or not the spouse appears on title, and that homestead cannot be devised away from a surviving spouse or a minor child. These restrictions are tested at death rather than at signing, which is why a deed that looked fine for years can fail at the moment it is needed.

Because a large share of West Palm Beach owners hold both kinds of property, the sensible approach is usually to look at them together rather than one at a time. The homestead and the rental need different treatment, and the plan is the two decisions taken with each other in view.

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, and the word doing all the work is estate. Florida defines it narrowly: recovery reaches assets passing through the probate estate. Florida has not adopted the expanded definition some states use.

Because a Lady Bird Deed moves property outside probate, it is one of the standard tools for reducing estate recovery exposure. Recording it is not a transfer for the five-year look-back, because nothing leaves your control during your lifetime.

For an owner with rental property the analysis needs more care than the usual summary allows. Eligibility and recovery are different questions, and rental property behaves differently from a homestead on both.

The limits, and what is different for a rental

  • The deed does not qualify anyone for Medicaid. Eligibility is a separate analysis.
  • The five-year look-back applies to actual transfers of non-homestead assets, which is precisely what a rental is.
  • A rental is generally a countable asset for eligibility purposes unless a specific exception applies.
  • Homestead protection depends on the home keeping homestead status and passing to heirs; a will directing a sale undoes it.

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. Medicaid eligibility rules are detailed and fact-specific. Nothing here is an eligibility determination.

Recording a West Palm Beach Lady Bird Deed

Palm Beach County does this the way most of Florida does, and the way its neighbour to the south does not. Deeds here are recorded by the Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller, Palm Beach County. In Broward, by contrast, the Clerk does not record deeds at all: that job belongs to the county's Records, Taxes & Treasury Division. If you own property in both counties, they are not interchangeable.

The main recording counter is at 205 North Dixie Highway, Room 4.2500, West Palm Beach, Florida 33401, generally open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. Branch counters keep the same hours:

  • South County Courthouse, 200 West Atlantic Avenue, Delray Beach
  • North County Courthouse, 3188 PGA Boulevard, Palm Beach Gardens
  • West County Courthouse, 2950 State Road 15, Room S-100, Belle Glade
  • Royal Palm Beach branch, 200 Civic Center Way, Suite 400, Royal Palm Beach

Documents may also be mailed to the Clerk at P.O. Box 4177, West Palm Beach, Florida 33402-4177, or submitted through e-recording. A deed executed with an electronic signature can still be recorded on paper: under Fla. Stat. § 28.222(3)(h), where a county recorder is not prepared to accept electronic documents for electronic recording, the clerk may record a paper printout of the instrument certified as a true and correct copy by a notary public. Same-day recording generally requires submitting in person.

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. Palm Beach 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. Where the property carries a mortgage the analysis turns on whether there is consideration, and that question arises far more often on rental property than on a long-held homestead. It is worth working through before signing rather than after recording.

Sources: Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller, Palm Beach County, Recording (205 N. Dixie Highway, Room 4.2500, West Palm Beach; branch locations; hours; e-recording); Fla. Stat. § 28.222(3)(h) (recording certified paper printouts of instruments executed with electronic signatures); Fla. Stat. § 695.27 (electronic signatures); Florida Department of Revenue Technical Assistance Advisement 20B4-004 (Oct. 16, 2020); Fla. Stat. ch. 201; Fla. Stat. § 28.24(13) (statutory service charges); Fla. Stat. §§ 689.01, 695.03.

After a Death: What Your Family Actually Does

  1. Order certified death certificates

    From the Florida Department of Health. Order several: the Property Appraiser, the insurer, any association, the lender and any property manager will each want one.

  2. Record one against each parcel

    Recorded in the Palm Beach County Official Records, this publicly establishes that the life estate has ended and the named beneficiaries hold title. If there is more than one property, each needs its own.

  3. Tell the tenants who owns the property now

    And where rent goes. This is the step people forget, and it is the one that causes friction within a fortnight.

  4. Take over the security deposit properly

    The obligation passes with the property, so the account and the records need to pass with it too.

  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.

  6. Notify the insurer and any association

    Landlord and unit-owner policies both need to reflect the change in ownership.

What is not on that list: a petition, a filing fee, a personal representative, publication of notice to creditors, or a creditor claim period for that property. On a rental, that is the difference between collecting rent next month and waiting out a formal administration first.

What a Lady Bird Deed Does Not Do

Common misconceptions, several of them specific to investment property.
People assume it…Reality
Gives a rental homestead protectionNo. Constitutional homestead protection attaches to your permanent residence, not to investment property.
Ends the leaseNo. Your beneficiaries become the landlord and inherit the obligations, including the security deposit.
Keeps a rental out of the summary administration countIt keeps it out of the estate entirely. Without the deed, the rental counts at full value.
Covers every parcel you ownNo. It conveys the property described in it. Each parcel needs its own treatment.
Removes the mortgageNo. The debt stays with the property and the beneficiaries take it subject to the lien.
Avoids documentary stamp tax automaticallyNot automatically where there is a mortgage. Consideration is the question.
Replaces a willNo. You still want a will for everything the deed does not reach.
Qualifies you for MedicaidNo. A rental is generally a countable asset, and eligibility is a separate analysis.
Stops your children arguingNo. It hands them undivided shares. Any one of them can generally seek partition.

How a West Palm Beach Lady Bird Deed Compares to the Alternatives

General comparison for Florida real property. The third column is the one investment owners should read.
OptionAvoids probate?Keeps a rental out of the estate count?Preserves stepped-up basis?Typical drawback here
Lady Bird DeedYes, for that parcelYesYesOne parcel per deed. Multiple properties need multiple deeds.
Will onlyNoNoYesA rental will usually force formal administration on its own.
Revocable living trustYes, if fundedYesYesHigher cost, but it holds several properties in one instrument.
Deed the rental to the kids nowYesYesNoForfeits the step-up on a depreciated asset, which is the worst place to lose it.
Hold it in an LLCOnly with a plan for the membership interestDepends how the interest passesVariesThe LLC owns the land, so a deed is not the instrument. See our Doral page.
Adding a child as joint ownerPartiallyPartiallyPartially lostCreates a present co-owner with veto power and creditor exposure.

Where there are several properties, a trust starts to win on administration alone: one instrument instead of four deeds, and one place to change things when you buy or sell. Where there is one house and one rental, two deeds are usually the cheaper and simpler answer. Our breakdown is on the Florida Lady Bird Deed comparison page.

How to Get a West Palm Beach Lady Bird Deed

  1. Establish whether the property is your homestead

    First question, and it changes nearly everything that follows.

  2. Confirm how the property is titled

    Pull the last recorded deed from the Palm Beach County Official Records rather than relying on memory.

  3. Deal with any tenancy

    The lease, the deposit, the account holding it, and the property manager if there is one.

  4. Pull the legal description and parcel control number

    Exactly as recorded, plus the parcel control number from the Property Appraiser.

  5. Check the mortgage position

    A mortgage is treated as consideration, which changes the documentary stamp analysis.

  6. Draft the enhanced life estate reservation

    Reserving your power to sell, convey, mortgage, lease and revoke without the beneficiaries' consent, and naming contingent takers.

  7. Sign with two witnesses and a notary

    Both witnesses present and signing. How you sign determines how it can be filed.

  8. Record with the Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller

    At 205 North Dixie Highway, Room 4.2500, at a branch counter, by mail, or by e-recording.

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Plain-English Glossary

Enhanced life estate deedThe formal name for a Lady Bird Deed. You keep a life estate plus the power to sell, mortgage or revoke without anyone's consent.
HomesteadYour permanent residence. Two separate legal ideas share the word: a property tax benefit, and a constitutional creditor shield with transfer restrictions.
Non-homestead propertyEverything else you own: a rental, a second home, an investment parcel. Different rules, and it counts toward the probate threshold.
Protected homesteadHomestead under Article X, Section 4. Exempt from creditors and not counted toward the summary administration ceiling.
Summary administrationA shortened probate for smaller estates. Available where the non-exempt estate is under the statutory ceiling.
Formal administrationThe full probate case, with a personal representative and a creditor claim period.
Parcel control numberThe Palm Beach County Property Appraiser's identifier for a parcel. Palm Beach's equivalent of a folio number.
ConsiderationWhat is given in exchange. A mortgage counts, which is why a mortgaged property changes the documentary stamp analysis.
Save Our HomesThe 3% homestead assessment cap. It does not apply to a rental, which has a separate cap with different rules.
Stepped-up basisThe reset of cost basis to date-of-death value. Especially valuable on rental property that has been depreciated.
RemaindermanA person named in the deed to receive the property at your death. No present interest while you are alive.
Partition actionA lawsuit any co-owner can generally file to force the division or sale of jointly owned property.

West Palm Beach Areas We Serve

We prepare Lady Bird Deeds for property throughout West Palm Beach and Palm Beach County, including:

  • Downtown and Clematis Street
  • Rosemary Square
  • Northwood
  • Old Northwood
  • Northwood Shores
  • Flamingo Park
  • El Cid
  • Grandview Heights
  • South of Southern
  • Southland Park
  • Palm Beach Lakes
  • Villages of Palm Beach Lakes
  • Bear Lakes
  • Ibis
  • Andros Isle
  • Pleasant City
  • Roosevelt Estates
  • Century Village West Palm Beach
  • Okeechobee Boulevard corridor
  • Lake Clarke Shores border

Work With a West Palm Beach Lady Bird Deed Attorney

Yanitza Schoonover focuses her practice on probate administration and estate planning for Florida families. She helps West Palm Beach owners with:

  • West Palm Beach Lady Bird Deed drafting, execution and recording
  • Planning for rental and investment property
  • Formal and summary probate administration
  • Estate planning coordination for owners of several parcels


If you own more than one property, the second one is usually the one nobody has planned for, and it is often the one that would force your family into the long version of probate. Bring a list of what you own and we will go through it.

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West Palm Beach Lady Bird Deed attorney Yanitza Schoonover

Yanitza Schoonover

West Palm Beach Lady Bird Deed Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use a Lady Bird Deed on a rental property?

Yes. A Lady Bird Deed works on any Florida real property, and it does not require the parcel to be your homestead. What changes is almost everything around it. A rental has no constitutional homestead protection from creditors, no restriction on who you may leave it to, no Save Our Homes cap, and critically, it counts toward the ceiling for summary administration where a protected homestead does not. So the deed is arguably more valuable on a rental than on a house, because without it the rental is exactly the asset most likely to force a full probate case.

Why does it matter that a rental counts toward the summary administration limit?

Because it is the difference between a short procedure and a long one. Summary administration under Fla. Stat. § 735.201 is available where the value of the non-exempt estate does not exceed the statutory ceiling, which rose to $150,000 effective July 1, 2026 for deaths on or after that date. Protected homestead is exempt and is not counted. A rental is not protected homestead, so its full value counts. In West Palm Beach, where the median owner-occupied value is $413,200, a single rental will usually put an estate straight past the ceiling and into formal administration. A Lady Bird Deed on that rental takes it out of the estate entirely.

Is my rental protected from creditors like my house is?

No. The creditor protection in Article X, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution attaches to homestead property, meaning the place you actually live as your permanent residence. A rental or investment parcel does not have it. That matters at death as well as during life: property that lands in the probate estate is available to satisfy claims against the estate during the creditor claim period, and a rental has no shield. Keeping it out of probate keeps it out of that process.

Can I leave a rental property to anyone I want?

Yes, and this is one place where non-homestead property is easier rather than harder. The constitutional restriction that prevents devising a homestead away from a surviving spouse or a minor child applies to the homestead, not to other real property. So an owner who cannot use a Lady Bird Deed on the family home because of a minor child can still use one on a rental. That asymmetry is genuinely useful in planning and it is rarely mentioned. See our Parkland page for the homestead side of it.

What happens to my tenants when I die?

The lease does not end because ownership changed. Your beneficiaries step into the position of landlord and inherit the obligations that go with it, including the security deposit and the statutory rules on how it is held and accounted for. That is worth telling them in advance rather than letting them discover it. Practical preparation is simple: keep the lease, the deposit records and the account details somewhere the family can find them.

Does Save Our Homes protect my rental from assessment increases?

No. Save Our Homes is the 3% homestead cap and it applies only to homestead property. Florida applies a separate 10% annual assessment cap to many non-homestead properties, which does not cover school district levies and which resets on a change of ownership or control. Because it is a different cap with different rules, an owner who assumes their rental is capped the way their house is can be surprised by an assessment after a transfer. Confirm the treatment for your parcel with the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser.

Where is a Lady Bird Deed recorded in Palm Beach County?

With the Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller, Palm Beach County. This differs from neighboring Broward, where deeds go to the county Records, Taxes & Treasury Division rather than the Clerk. The main recording counter is at 205 North Dixie Highway, Room 4.2500, West Palm Beach, generally open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, with branch counters at the South County Courthouse in Delray Beach, the North County Courthouse in Palm Beach Gardens, the West County Courthouse in Belle Glade and the Royal Palm Beach branch. Documents may also be submitted by mail or through e-recording.

Does the documentary stamp tax work differently on a mortgaged rental?

The analysis turns on consideration, and a mortgage is treated as consideration. In Technical Assistance Advisement 20B4-004 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. Where the property carries a mortgage the question deserves specific attention, and rental property is far more likely to be mortgaged than a long-held homestead. Palm Beach County applies the standard statewide rate of $0.70 per $100 of consideration on taxable deeds.

Does a Lady Bird Deed on a rental affect Medicaid planning?

It can, and the direction is different from a homestead. Recording a Lady Bird Deed is not a transfer during your lifetime, because nothing leaves your control, so it does not trigger the five-year look-back by itself. But the five-year look-back does apply to actual transfers of non-homestead assets, and a rental is generally a countable asset for eligibility purposes unless a specific exception applies. Eligibility is a separate analysis from probate avoidance, and for an owner with rental property it should be done by someone looking at the whole picture.

Do my beneficiaries get a stepped-up basis on a rental?

Generally yes, and on a rental it can be worth even more than on a home. Because you keep the enhanced powers, the property remains in your gross estate at death, which normally produces a stepped-up cost basis. On rental property that has been depreciated over many years, the owner's adjusted basis can be very low, so the gain a lifetime transfer would hand to a child is correspondingly large. Confirm the treatment, including how depreciation is handled, with a tax advisor.

Can a West Palm Beach 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 investment property that flexibility is essential, because the whole point of holding it is that you may want to sell or refinance at a moment of your choosing.

More general questions are answered on our Florida Lady Bird Deed FAQ page.

We also assist owners in nearby Palm Beach and Broward markets including Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Coral Springs, Parkland, and Fort Lauderdale. Browse every market on our areas we serve page.

Florida Lady Bird Deed Attorney Serves Homeowners Across Florida

We help homeowners throughout Florida with Lady Bird Deeds and probate avoidance planning. Below are many of the primary Florida markets we serve, but we're not limited to these locations. You can also browse the full Florida Lady Bird Deed city and county directory.

• Boca Raton • Boynton Beach • Cape Coral • Clearwater • Coral Springs • Davie • Daytona Beach • Deerfield Beach • Doral • Fort Lauderdale • Hallandale Beach • Hialeah • Hollywood • Homestead • Jacksonville • Kendall • Lauderdale Lakes • Miami • Miami Beach • Miramar • Orlando • Parkland • Pembroke Pines • Pine Hills • Plantation • Pompano Beach • Port Saint Lucie • Saint Petersburg • Sunrise • Tallahassee • Tampa • West Palm Beach • Weston

Legal disclaimer. This page is general information about Florida law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Whether particular property qualifies as homestead is determined on the facts. Medicaid eligibility rules are detailed and fact-specific, and nothing here is an eligibility determination. Recording locations, fees, tax rates and court procedures described were accurate as of August 2026 and should be confirmed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller, Palm Beach County and the Florida Department of Revenue.

The Schoonover Law Firm, P.A. · Yanitza Schoonover, Attorney at Law · Licensed in Florida. Attorney advertising.