Both Deeds Say Life Estate. Here Is the Difference That Matters

Carmen's Situation

Carmen is 74 and lives in Kissimmee. She is a composite of the kind of client I see often in my practice, not an actual person I have represented. Back in 2019, Carmen signed a life estate deed that named her son as the remainder beneficiary, thinking it worked the same way as the "lady bird deed" she had heard her neighbors talk about. Now she wants to sell her house and move closer to her daughter in Ocala. She has just learned those two deeds are not the same thing at all, and the difference is about to matter a great deal.

A quick refresher: with either type of deed, the owner keeps the right to live in the home for life. The property then passes to the named beneficiaries at death without going through probate. Where the two deeds part ways is what the owner can do with the property while still alive.

The Power to Sell, Mortgage, or Change Your Mind

This is the heart of the difference, and it comes down to a few words of drafting language.

• Enhanced life estate deed (lady bird deed): The deed explicitly states that the owner keeps full power and authority to sell, mortgage, rent, or otherwise deal with the property in fee simple, without needing the remainder beneficiaries to sign off or even be told. The owner can also revoke the deed or name different beneficiaries entirely.
• Ordinary life estate deed: The deed creates a present, vested interest in the remainder beneficiaries the moment it is signed. In most cases, selling or mortgaging the property afterward requires the life tenant and the remainder beneficiaries to agree and sign together. The life tenant generally cannot remove a beneficiary or undo the arrangement without that beneficiary's cooperation.

Lawyers sometimes describe this as the remainder interest being vested in an ordinary life estate deed, versus subject to divestment in an enhanced deed, meaning the owner can wipe out the beneficiary's interest at any time simply by selling the property or recording a new deed.

For Carmen, this is the whole problem. Her 2019 deed gave her son a real ownership interest in the house the day it was recorded. She cannot simply list the house and sign a closing statement on her own.

Why the Medicaid Rules Are Not the Same

Because an ordinary life estate deed hands over a real interest in the property right away, Florida's Medicaid program treats it as a completed gift of the remainder interest. If Carmen or anyone in her position applies for Medicaid long term care benefits within the look back period after signing that kind of deed, the transfer can trigger a penalty period during which Medicaid will not pay for care.

A lady bird deed works differently. Because the owner keeps full control, including the power to revoke the deed or sell the home outright, Florida's Medicaid policy treats the recording of an enhanced life estate deed as no transfer at all. Nothing has really left the owner's hands until death. That is one of the main reasons families choose the enhanced version over the traditional one when Medicaid planning is part of the goal.

What Carmen Has to Do Now

Carmen's 2019 deed named her son as remainder beneficiary and gave him a vested interest in the home. To sell the house and move near her daughter, Carmen generally needs her son's cooperation. In practice, this usually means one of two paths:

• Her son joins in the deed to the new buyer, formally releasing his remainder interest so the sale can close with clear title.
• Carmen and her son together sign a new deed that undoes the old arrangement, then Carmen is free to sell, refinance, or later record a new lady bird deed naming whoever she wishes.

Either approach depends entirely on her son's willingness to sign. If the family relationship is good, and in Carmen's case it is, this is usually a straightforward fix. It does mean an extra document, another notary and witness signing, and another trip to the courthouse to record it in Osceola County. Had Carmen's original deed been drafted as an enhanced life estate deed instead, she would have been able to sell the home entirely on her own, list it, negotiate, and close, without ever needing her son's signature.

Fixing an Ordinary Life Estate Deed Going Forward

For families in Carmen's position, the good news is that an ordinary life estate deed is not a permanent trap. With the remainder beneficiary's cooperation, it can be unwound and, if desired, replaced with a properly drafted enhanced life estate deed that restores the parent's full control. This requires the remainder beneficiary's signature, a new deed with the enhanced language a title examiner expects to see, and recording in the county where the property sits. Florida has no statute that creates the lady bird deed; it rests on long standing case law, title standards published by The Florida Bar, and decades of practice, which is exactly why the specific reserved powers language in the deed has to be drafted correctly the first time.

Truestead prepares Florida lady bird deeds for $199 self-guided or $399 attorney-prepared, including recording, and we regularly help families in Carmen's situation both unwind an old life estate deed and put a properly drafted enhanced deed in its place.

Sources

• Alper Law, "Life Estate Deeds in Florida: Traditional vs. Enhanced (Lady Bird)," 2026
• Zoecklein Law, "Lady Bird Deed and Medicaid Planning in Florida," June 10, 2026
• The Florida Bar, Uniform Title Standards 6.10-6.12, 2019
• Marina Title, "Can You Sell a Home with a Life Estate Deed in Florida?," September 10, 2025
• DeedClaim, "Florida Lady Bird Deed and Medicaid," February 23, 2023

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.