The Short Version
Yes, a Florida lady bird deed can be done entirely online, from anywhere. A short remote consult, an online intake, an attorney-drafted deed, remote online notarization, and recording with your county. The real choice is not online versus in-person. It is attorney-prepared versus form mill, and on a document that controls your house, that choice matters more than the few dollars between them.
Why Not Just Use a $349 Form Service?
Because they are not law firms, and they say so themselves in the fine print: they do not provide legal advice. They take your answers and drop them into a template. That is fine until one of these is true, and you have no way of knowing whether it is:
- The legal description does not match your actual title, so the deed is defective and a future sale stalls.
- You have a spouse or minor child, and Florida homestead law voids a deed that does not handle their rights correctly.
- You have several beneficiaries, a special-needs child, or a beneficiary with creditors, where an outright share creates a lawsuit or kills someone's benefits.
- A lady bird deed is simply the wrong tool, and a trust would have served you far better.
A form service cannot catch any of these, because catching them is legal advice and they are not allowed to give it. The family usually finds out years later, after someone has died, when fixing it costs many times what the deed saved.
How It Works, Start to Finish, Online
- Free 30-minute consult. By phone or Zoom. We confirm a lady bird deed is right for you, or tell you if something else fits better. No pressure, no charge.
- Online intake. You give us your property and beneficiary details through a secure form. We confirm the legal description against your title.
- Attorney drafts and you review. A licensed Florida attorney prepares the deed with the correct homestead, spousal, and beneficiary language, and you review it before anything is signed.
- Sign remotely. You sign by video with a remote online notary and the witnesses Florida law requires, or with a local notary you choose. No trip to an office.
- We record it. We deliver the signed deed to your county for recording and send you the recorded copy for your file.
When a quick deed is not enough: talk to us first
A lady bird deed is a great tool in the simple case. If any of these is true, you need a short conversation before anyone records anything, and a form mill cannot have it with you:
- You have a spouse or a minor child. Homestead rules can void the deed if the spousal signature is not handled right.
- A beneficiary is on SSI or Medicaid, or has creditors or a shaky marriage. An outright share can end benefits or be seized. The home should run through a protective trust instead.
- You have several beneficiaries who may not agree. Co-owners headed for a partition fight are better served by a trust with a trustee.
- There is a mortgage, reverse mortgage, or a planned refinance. A later loan can silently undo the deed.
- You are doing Medicaid planning. The deed helps with estate recovery but is not a substitute for eligibility planning.
In every one of these, a revocable living trust may be the right answer. We will tell you honestly which one fits. Book your free consult →
Attorney-Prepared, at the Form-Mill Price
Our flat fee is $399 individual / $449 joint, plus recording (about $18 to $30) and the $0.70 doc stamp, which are government costs passed through at cost. That is right in line with what the non-lawyer services charge for a template, except a licensed Florida attorney prepares it, confirms it is right for you, and stands behind it. See the full cost breakdown and price comparison →
Ready to do it right, without leaving home?
Start with a free 30-minute consult. We will confirm a lady bird deed fits, then handle the whole thing online for a flat fee.
Book your free consultFrequently Asked Questions
Can I Really Prepare a Lady Bird Deed Online in Florida?
Yes. The entire process can be done remotely, from anywhere: a short consult by phone or Zoom, your information collected online, the deed drafted and reviewed, and signing handled with a remote online notary. You never have to come to an office. The difference that matters is not online versus in-person. It is whether a licensed Florida attorney prepares it or a non-lawyer form service does.
What Is Wrong With the $349 Online Deed Services?
They are not law firms, and they tell you so in the fine print: they do not give legal advice and cannot review whether a lady bird deed is even right for you. They fill in a template. If your legal description is wrong, if you have a spouse or minor child who triggers Florida’s homestead rules, or if a trust would actually serve your family better, a form service will not catch it. You find out years later, often after someone has died, when it is expensive to fix.
How Is an Attorney-Prepared Deed Different?
An attorney confirms the legal description against your actual title, handles the spousal-signature and homestead rules so the deed cannot be voided, makes sure the beneficiary structure fits your family, and tells you honestly if a deed is the wrong tool. You get the same online convenience and a comparable price, with a real lawyer standing behind the document. That is something a form mill is legally not allowed to offer.
What Does It Cost?
Our flat fee is $399 for an individual lady bird deed and $449 for a joint deed, plus recording costs of about $18 to $30 and a $0.70 documentary stamp, which are government charges passed through at cost. That is right in line with the form services, except an actual Florida attorney prepares and stands behind it. The 30-minute consult that confirms a deed is right for you is free.
How Long Does It Take?
Most straightforward deeds move quickly once we have confirmed the facts and your title information. After the consult and intake, we draft the deed, you review it, you sign with a remote online notary, and we handle recording with the county. We will give you a realistic timeline for your county at the consult.
Do I Have to Sign in Person?
No. Florida allows remote online notarization, so you can sign by video with a notary and the two witnesses Florida law requires for a deed, all online. If you would rather sign in front of a local notary you choose, you can do that too. Either way, you do not need to travel to us.
What If a Lady Bird Deed Is Not the Right Tool for Me?
Then we will tell you, before you pay for a deed. Sometimes a revocable living trust is the better fit, sometimes you need to address Medicaid or a special-needs beneficiary first, and sometimes the simple deed is exactly right. A form service has no way to have that conversation. We do, and it is free.
Common Situations
The out-of-state owner. A snowbird who lives up north most of the year owns a condo in Fort Myers. She did the research, knew she wanted a lady bird deed, and did the whole thing by Zoom and remote notary without flying down. An attorney confirmed the legal description and her homestead status first.
The form that would have failed. A man was about to buy a $349 online deed for a home he owns with his wife. A 30-minute consult caught that the spousal signature had to be handled a specific way, or the deed would have been void. Same price with us, a deed that actually works.
The deed that should have been a trust. A widow with three children and a son on disability nearly bought an online deed naming all three. We showed her how an outright share would cost her son his benefits, and built the right structure instead.
The online notary with no witnesses. A Port St. Lucie man downloads a deed form and signs it through a generic online-notary site. The notarization is real, but no witnesses sign, and a Florida deed needs two. The defect surfaces after his death, when the title company rejects the deed and his daughter faces the probate he meant to avoid. When we run a remote signing, the video session includes the witnesses Florida law requires, so the deed that gets recorded actually works.
Sources of Law
- Fla. Stat. §117.265: remote online notarization requirements in Florida. flsenate.gov (retrieved 2026-06-14)
- Fla. Stat. §689.01: a Florida deed conveying real property requires two subscribing witnesses. flsenate.gov
- Fla. Const. Art. X, §4(c) / Fla. Stat. §732.401: homestead may not be devised away from a surviving spouse or minor child. flsenate.gov
- Lady bird (enhanced life estate) deeds are recognized by Florida common law and title-underwriting practice; there is no Florida statute creating them.
Updated on July 12, 2026. Reviewed by Kevin D. Klagge, Esq., Fla. Bar No. 99502. Attorney Kevin Klagge represents families, businesses, and international clients in estate planning and international law, with a focus on Florida legal tools. He litigates estate and business issues in court. General information about Florida law, not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created. Do not send confidential information until we have agreed to represent you.