Using a lady bird deed to avoid probate on real estate

A lady bird deed a/k/a enhanced life estate deed a/k/a beneficiary deed is a tool to avoid probate on real estate.

Attorney Tom Olsen: When we do a Lady Bird deed for the purpose of avoiding probate and let's say it's a Lady Bird deed from Dad to his daughter, when Dad passes away, the only thing the daughter needs to do is record his death certificate in the public records and that piece of property automatically belongs to her. No headaches, no hassles, no probate, that's using a Lady Bird deed. Chrissy, we got free booklets on Lady Bird deeds and people want to know more about it.

Attorney Chris Merrill: We do. We would love to mail you our free booklet on Lady Bird deeds, also known as the enhanced life estate deed here in Florida. You can go to our website at olsenlawgroup.com, O-L-S-E-N law group.com. Right there on our homepage, you will see a picture of the booklet and then you can fill out a very short form with your information and we will get that in the mail to you. It's a great starting point and it is something where we do thousands of these for people because it is a simple, easy way to be able to avoid probate on Florida real estate.

Attorney Tom Olsen: Chrissy, how many times have we had people come to us when Dad has passed away and Dad's got a will where he leaves a home to the kids and the response to us, when we tell them it's going to require probate because he did not do a Lady Bird deed, the response from the kids typically is, "Oh, I thought it happened automatically." No, there's nothing automatic, folks. Requires probate unless you do a Lady Bird deed for that.

Attorney Chris Merrill: I think it's one of those big misconceptions, which is why we are always trying to educate people that they think that having a will in and of itself that they're covered, but a will does not avoid probate. Then that goes to, again, the Lady Bird deed in your home in particular. Why? Because even though the will says it goes to the right person, it, the deed itself, there has to be a court process, which is probate, to get it out of their name, the person that died, into the names of the persons that listed in the will.

That's why we are huge proponents of the Lady Bird deed because it is simple. It's a simple tool to accomplish something that takes time and costs money and it's a lot of aggravation for people. Again, go to our website, olsenlawgroup.com and there you can request our free booklet on the Lady Bird deed. Of course, you can call us or text us, however it's easiest for you. We will get that in the mail to you.