Does Florida allow a transfer on death deed?

Florida at a glance

TOD deed for real estate

No

How a house passes in Florida without a TOD deed

• Small-estate affidavit cap. $2,000
• Real estate. No affidavit transfers Florida land. Real property not passing outside probate needs summary administration (estate up to $150,000, or decedent dead over 2 years) or formal administration.
• Summary administration (Fla. Stat. 735.201-735.2063). Court proceeding without appointing a personal representative, used when the estate subject to administration in Florida, less exempt property, is $150,000 or less, or the decedent has been dead over 2 years, and any will does not require full administration. The court enters an order distributing the assets. The cap rose from $75,000 to $150,000 on July 1, 2026 (ch. 2026-57). For very small estates, disposition without administration needs only a court letter: personal property no greater than preferred funeral costs plus last-60-day medical expenses (735.301), or, for intestate deaths over 1 year old, up to $20,000 plus those costs (735.304, raised from $10,000 on 2026-07-01).

All Florida small-estate rules, with sources →

What people in Florida use instead

Florida has no transfer-on-death deed. The Florida Department of Revenue recognizes an Enhanced Life Estate Deed ('Lady Bird Deed'): the owners keep a life estate with full power to sell or change the remainder, and the named remainder persons take at death. DOR found it is not subject to documentary stamp tax (TAA 20B4-004, 2020).

Good to know in Florida

• The 2026 Florida Statutes have no transfer-on-death deed for real estate; Florida uses "transfer on death" only for securities and accounts (e.g., Fla. Stat. 732.2035(3)).
• Fla. Stat. 732.4017 says a lifetime transfer of homestead is not a devise if the owner does NOT keep a power to revoke or revest the interest, even if the transferred interest becomes possessory only at the owner's death. It does not create a TOD deed.
• A Florida DOR advisement (TAA 20B4-004, 2020) is a non-binding tax ruling; it is not a statute authorizing the enhanced life estate deed.

Official pages

• No TOD deed or other plan? How Florida handles a small estate without probate →

Sources

• Fla. Stat. ch. 732 (2026), Probate Code: intestate succession and wills (read October 28, 2026)
• Fla. Stat. ch. 689 (2026), Conveyances of land (read October 28, 2026)
• Fla. Stat. ch. 733 (2026), Probate Code: administration of estates (read October 28, 2026)
• florida alternatives (verifier B) (read October 28, 2026)

Legal information from the official sources above, not legal advice. A TOD deed can affect Medicaid, taxes, creditors and co-owners; for a decision about your own property, ask the county recorder, a legal aid office or a lawyer. How we check: methodology.