Most Coral Gables Homeowners Don't Know They Can Pass Their Home Without Probate. Now You Do.
Florida is one of only five states in the country that recognizes a Lady Bird Deed—a tool that lets you pass your home directly to whoever you choose when you die, without a single court filing, without any delay, and without giving up one bit of control while you’re alive.
Most people find out about it too late. By then, their home is already headed into probate—and their family is already dealing with a process that takes over a year, costs real money, and plays out as public record for anyone to look up.
How Exactly a Lady Bird Deed Works
You sign a deed that names who receives your home when you pass. That’s it. Nothing changes while you’re alive—your name stays on the title, you keep full ownership, and you can sell it, refinance it, or change your mind about who gets it whenever you want. Your beneficiary has no say in any of that. They don’t even need to legally know the deed exists.
When you pass, two things happen. Your beneficiary takes a copy of your death certificate to Miami-Dade County’s property records office. They file it, and the title moves to their name. There is no attorney required, no judge required, and no probate filing required.
The whole thing typically wraps up in a matter of weeks.
What you’re essentially doing is setting up a direct transfer in advance—so that when the time comes, your family spends weeks handling paperwork instead of years navigating a courtroom.
You keep complete control of your home for the rest of your life, and the people you love inherit it cleanly when you’re gone.
What Happens When You Pass Away Without a Lady Bird Deed
Your property will have to go through probate court.
When you pass away, your home doesn't automatically go to your family. A Miami-Dade judge must first formally approve the transfer—a process that can take over a year, while the mortgage and HOA bills keep coming.
The state can come after your home to recover Medicaid costs.
If you ever need Medicaid for long-term care, Florida tracks what it spends and can claim it back from your estate. A home in probate is fully exposed to that. A home transferred through a Lady Bird Deed passes outside your estate entirely—nothing for the state to recover.
Your family gets handed a legal process on one of the worst days of their lives.
Probate is slow, costly, and public record. Instead, a Lady Bird Deed means the person you named brings a death certificate to the property records office, files it, and walks away with the title. That's it.
A Lady Bird Deed Only Works If It's Drafted Correctly.
That's Where We Come In
We’re located right here on Douglas Road, and we’ve helped homeowners throughout the Gables, Pinecrest, Coconut Grove, and South Miami use this tool to protect their homes. We know Miami-Dade’s property records office, we know Florida’s homestead rules, and we know how to draft a Lady Bird Deed that actually holds up—with contingency planning built in so there’s always a clear answer no matter what order things happen.
A deed that skips the backup plan is a deed that ends up in circuit court anyway. We’ve seen it too many times. We make sure it never happens to our clients.
Answering Frequently Asked Questions
I have a mortgage on my Coral Gables home. Will this cause problems with my lender?
No. Your bank only gets involved when ownership actually changes hands—that’s what they care about. A Lady Bird Deed doesn’t do that while you’re alive, so as far as your lender is concerned, nothing has changed. Federal law under the Garn-St. Germain Act backs this up, and Florida’s property transfer rules are consistent with it. Your mortgage stays exactly as it is. The deed sits in the background until you pass, and your beneficiary handles the mortgage separately at that point.
Can I leave my home to more than one person?
Absolutely. You can pick who gets what percentage—one child gets half, two others split the rest, whatever reflects your actual wishes. We also make sure the deed has a backup plan built in under § 689.17, so if someone you named passes away before you do, there’s already a clear answer about what happens to their share. We’ve seen too many deeds that skip that part, and the result is a family dispute that ends up in Miami-Dade’s circuit court anyway, which is exactly what the deed was supposed to prevent.
How is a Lady Bird Deed different from putting my home in a trust?
Good question. They both keep your home out of probate court; that part’s the same. The difference is that a trust covers everything you own and comes with a whole set of instructions for how your estate gets handled. A Lady Bird Deed just covers the one property named in it, nothing else.
What happens to my Lady Bird Deed if I get remarried?
The deed stays exactly as it was—it doesn’t update automatically when your life changes. If you remarry and your new spouse isn’t named as a beneficiary, they have no claim to the property through the deed. Florida’s elective share laws under § 732.2065 may give a surviving spouse certain rights regardless, which is why any major life change is a reason to revisit your estate planning documents. We make it easy to update when the time comes.
Can I set up a Lady Bird Deed if my home is in a trust?
Yes, but it’s usually unnecessary—and could actually conflict with how your trust is structured. If your home is already in a revocable living trust, the trust handles the transfer at death without probate. A Lady Bird Deed solves the same problem a different way. We look at your full picture and tell you which tool fits your situation, so you’re not doubling up or creating a conflict between documents.
Schedule your consultation with Family Life Law Today
If you’re dealing with an estate planning, probate, or family law matter and want to understand your options, contact us today to schedule a consultation.