Lady Bird Deeds in Miami-Dade and Broward County: What's Different Locally

Meet Rosa: a composite example, not a client

Rosa is 76 and owns her home in Hialeah outright. Her daughter Claudia lives in Lauderdale Lakes and handles most of Rosa's paperwork, including anything involving the county or the bank. Rosa wants her house to pass to Claudia without a probate case, but she also wants to keep living there, keep the homestead exemption, and keep the right to sell or change her mind if her plans change. A lady bird deed is built for exactly that. Rosa is a composite I use to walk through the process; she is not an actual client, and no detail here reflects any one person's real file.

The legal mechanics of a lady bird deed do not change depending on which Florida county the property sits in. What does change, county to county, is the recording process, and that is where families like Rosa and Claudia run into local wrinkles worth knowing in advance.

How recording actually works in Miami-Dade County

Once Rosa's deed is signed, witnessed, and notarized, it is not effective against future buyers or creditors until it is recorded in the Official Records of Miami-Dade County, since that is where the property sits. Miami-Dade, like every Florida county, charges recording fees by the page and collects documentary stamp tax based on the deed's stated consideration.

• Recording fees are calculated per page, with a higher charge for the first page and a lower per-page charge for each additional page.
• Documentary stamp tax in Miami-Dade is calculated at a rate specific to the county; because a lady bird deed to a family member for love and affection typically states nominal or no consideration, the tax due is usually the statutory minimum rather than a percentage of the home's value.
• Miami-Dade's Clerk of Court accepts documents through several approved e-recording vendors, and most deeds submitted this way are processed the same business day.

The Miami-Dade Clerk's office also enforces formatting standards under Florida's recording statute, including required top and side margins on the first page and every following page. A deed drafted without those margins, or without a proper legal description and preparer information, can be rejected and sent back, which delays recording and can be a problem if health or timing is a concern.

How recording works in Broward County, and what's the same versus different

Claudia lives in Broward, which is a good reminder that the county that matters for recording is where the property is located, not where the family members live. Rosa's home is in Hialeah, so her deed must be recorded in Miami-Dade even though Claudia is handling the paperwork from Lauderdale Lakes.

If a family's home were instead in Broward, the same general framework applies, with Broward's own per-page fee schedule and its own documentary stamp tax rate. Broward also supports electronic recording through its own records management system, and most licensed title agents, closing attorneys, or estate planning firms can e-record on a family's behalf rather than requiring an in-person trip to the courthouse.

What about condos? Miami-Dade and Broward are full of them

Both counties have a large share of condominium housing, and that raises a question I hear often from clients and from families like Rosa's: does the condo association have to approve a lady bird deed?

A lady bird deed does not transfer ownership while the owner is alive. Rosa keeps full title, full control, and the unrestricted right to sell, mortgage, or revoke the deed at any time. Because no present transfer occurs, most condo declarations that require board approval for a sale or lease do not apply to recording a lady bird deed. The deed simply designates who receives the unit automatically at death.

That said, every condo declaration is different, and some older or more restrictive associations in South Florida have unusual transfer, approval, or right-of-first-refusal language. If Rosa's home were a condo unit rather than a single-family house, it would be worth a quick look at the declaration, or a conversation with an attorney, to confirm nothing in that particular association's governing documents creates an unusual wrinkle. This is a case-by-case document review, not a statewide condo rule.

Homestead exemption, spousal joinder, and Spanish-language documents

Rosa is widowed, which matters here. Florida homestead law requires that if a homestead is owned by a married person, the spouse must join in any deed, including a lady bird deed, or the deed is voidable as to the homestead. Because Rosa has no spouse, this requirement does not apply to her, but it is one of the first things I check for any married Florida homeowner considering this kind of deed.

Recording a lady bird deed does not, by itself, remove or change the homestead exemption on the property tax roll. Because Rosa keeps full ownership and continues living there, her Miami-Dade Property Appraiser homestead exemption should continue undisturbed. Families often still contact the Property Appraiser's office after recording, simply to confirm the exemption and Save Our Homes assessment cap are unaffected, and that is a sensible, low-effort step.

Rosa's deed, from kitchen table to courthouse record

Here is how the process realistically unfolds for someone like Rosa, once she and Claudia decide a lady bird deed fits her goals:

• The deed is drafted naming Rosa as the life tenant with full lifetime rights, including the power to sell or revoke, and naming Claudia as the beneficiary who receives the property automatically at Rosa's death.
• Rosa signs the deed in the presence of two witnesses and a notary public, all required under Florida law for a deed to be valid and recordable.
• The deed is submitted for recording in Miami-Dade County, either through an e-recording vendor or in person, along with the appropriate recording fee and documentary stamp tax.
• Once recorded, the deed becomes part of Miami-Dade's Official Records, and the county clerk returns a recorded copy showing the official record book and page or instrument number.
• Rosa continues living in her home, paying her taxes, and keeping her homestead exemption exactly as before. Nothing changes for her day to day.

Truestead prepares Florida lady bird deeds starting at $199 for a self-guided package or $399 for an attorney-prepared deed that includes recording, so families do not have to navigate county-specific fee schedules or formatting rules on their own.

This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice, nor does reading it create an attorney-client relationship. Florida estate, elder, probate, and real estate law are fact-specific and change over time. Consult a licensed Florida attorney about your individual circumstances. Arthur Simpson, Esq. is licensed to practice law in the State of Florida. Attorney advertising.