Pasco County Lady Bird Deed Attorney — New Port Richey, Wesley Chapel and Zephyrhills
As a Pasco County lady bird deed attorney, I prepare and record lady bird deeds for Pasco County, Florida property owners for a flat fee of $675. The $675 fee includes speaking directly with attorney Jose Lorenzo, reading your recorded deed, deed preparation, online notarization, witnesses, county recording fees, and the minimum documentary stamp charge.
I am Jose M. Lorenzo, Jr., Florida Bar No. 107002, and I am the only attorney at this firm, so the attorney you speak with first is the one who drafts your deed. I do not have a Pasco County office, and you do not need one: the deed is signed online wherever you are and submitted to the Pasco County Clerk & Comptroller for recording.
To start: call (305) 224-6811 for a free introductory call, or use the contact form. I read the recorded deed before quoting, and I will tell you if a deed is the wrong instrument for what you are trying to do. Please do not put Social Security numbers, account numbers or medical details in the web form.
| What I charge | $675 flat, quoted after I read your recorded deed; county recording fees and the minimum documentary stamp charge are included |
| Do you have to come to an office or the courthouse? | No. The deed is signed online where you are and submitted electronically to the Clerk |
| Who records deeds in Pasco County | The Pasco County Clerk & Comptroller, which takes walk-in recordings at the East Pasco Government Center in Dade City and the West Pasco Government Center in New Port Richey, and also accepts e-recording |
| Pasco County recording fees | $10.00 for the first page, $8.50 for each page after it (§ 28.24) |
| Documentary stamp rate | $0.70 per $100 (§ 201.02). Pasco County levies no discretionary surtax |
| Property Appraiser | Pasco County Property Appraiser, with offices in New Port Richey, Land O’ Lakes and Dade City |
| Where a Pasco probate is heard | Sixth Judicial Circuit, which covers Pasco and Pinellas counties |
| Pasco County homestead exemption deadline | March 1, with the Pasco County Property Appraiser |
| The local complication | Lutz and Odessa mailing addresses are used on both sides of the Hillsborough line, and many “Spring Hill” addresses in ZIP 34610 are Pasco parcels — the mailing address does not tell you the county |
Ready to compare the service? See what the $675 includes, the signing and recording steps, or what to send for your free introductory call.
Lady Bird Deed Preparation for Pasco County Property
A lady bird deed, also written ladybird deed and formally called an enhanced life estate deed, keeps you as the owner for life. You can still sell, mortgage, rent or change your mind without asking anyone named in it. At your death the property passes to the people you named, without probate for that property. A spouse, a co-owner or a lender may still have rights of their own. The general Florida rules are on my Florida lady bird deed page; this page is about how they play out for a Pasco County enhanced life estate deed.
Personal attorney advice, from the first call to the recorded deed
When you hire me for a Pasco County lady bird deed, you deal with me. I take the first call, I read your recorded deed, I draft the deed, and I am the person you reach if a question comes up later. My staff handle scheduling and the recording submission. They do not do the legal work, and you are never handed to anyone else for it. Before anything is drafted, I check two things: whether a lady bird deed suits your property and family, and whether the job fits inside the standard service. The scope table below sets out what the $675 covers and what it does not.
How much does a lady bird deed cost in Pasco County?
My fee to prepare a lady bird deed for Pasco County property is $675, the same in New Port Richey as in Wesley Chapel or Dade City. The $675 fee includes speaking directly with attorney Jose Lorenzo, reading your recorded deed, deed preparation, online notarization, witnesses, county recording fees, and the minimum documentary stamp charge. Any documentary stamp tax above that minimum is separate from the $675 and is worked out from the facts of the transaction. When comparing prices, ask whether the quote includes speaking with the attorney, online notarization, witnesses, recording fees and documentary stamps.
Do I need a lawyer to do a lady bird deed in Florida?
No law requires one. Whether you need one depends on facts you may not know are facts. If you own a paid-off house outright, are unmarried, have one adult child, and the legal description in your last deed is clean, this is a simple document and plenty of people handle it without me. If you are married, if there is a mortgage, if the property is a rental, if there is a minor child anywhere in the picture, if the home is a manufactured home, or if there is any prior deed you are unsure about — those are the situations where the details matter, and a mistake may not surface until years later, when your family is trying to sell and you are no longer there to sign a correction.
A document preparation service can fill in a form, but it is not permitted to give you legal advice about your situation — for example, whether your spouse has to sign because the house you have described as a rental is legally your homestead, or whether a cooperative park means a deed is the wrong instrument. Acceptance for recording does not establish that a deed accomplishes your goals. Recording was never the hard part. If you want to see what one looks like first, my page on the Florida lady bird deed form walks through the requirements.
What Kind of Property Do You Own in Pasco?
Start by identifying what you own: the home and land, a home on a rented lot, or a share in a resident-owned community. Most Pasco homes are a house or condominium on land the owner holds by deed, and for those the answer is usually straightforward. Pasco also has a great many manufactured-home communities, and there the answer turns on whether you own the land under the home, rent it, or hold a membership in a community that owns it. The screening table below sorts the common Pasco situations. It screens an inquiry; it does not decide one. I confirm the answer on your documents.
| What you own | Typical Pasco examples | Where the deed starts |
|---|---|---|
| A house on land you own | Most of New Port Richey, Holiday, Hudson, Trinity, Wesley Chapel, Land O’ Lakes and Dade City | Usually the cleanest case for the deed |
| A house in an HOA or community development district | Newer subdivisions in Wesley Chapel and Land O’ Lakes | The deed works; the association’s transfer rules and any district assessment follow the property |
| A condominium unit | West Pasco coastal and 55+ condominiums | The deed works; read the declaration for approval or notice rules |
| A manufactured home and the lot it sits on, both yours | Deeded-lot communities around Zephyrhills, Dade City and west Pasco | Possible, if the home’s title has been retired and it is real property |
| A manufactured home on an ordinary rented lot | Land-lease 55+ communities in Zephyrhills and New Port Richey | A deed conveys nothing; the home passes by certificate of title. A recorded lease of thirty years or more, with the home permanently affixed and its title retired, is treated differently — see below |
| A membership or share in a resident-owned cooperative | Some resident-owned communities in east Pasco | Not the right tool |
| Property titled in an LLC, partnership or trust | Rentals and inherited parcels | Usually a different instrument |
Land and a conventional residence
If you own a house, a townhouse or a condominium in your own name, a lady bird deed usually fits, and the questions that remain are about your family and your mortgage, covered in the next section. The deed moves ownership of the land and the home. It does not move a club or amenity membership, a golf membership or a gate card; those follow the community’s own rules.
Can you do a lady bird deed on a mobile home in Pasco County?
Only if the home’s motor vehicle title has been retired under § 319.261. That requires the home to be permanently affixed and requires you to own the land — or to hold a recorded lease of it for thirty years or more, which § 319.261 treats the same way. The RP sticker shows how the home is taxed and is not enough on its own. Where the title has not been retired, and on an ordinary short-term rented lot, the home is personal property and a deed conveys nothing; you transfer it by certificate of title instead.
What if my park is resident-owned?
Then the answer depends on what the residents own. Some resident-owned communities in Pasco are organized so that each owner holds a deeded lot and belongs to a homeowners’ association; for those, the owned-land answer above applies. Others are cooperatives, where what you hold is a share or membership in the corporation that owns the land. For a cooperative, the answer on my Tampa page applies here too: what you actually hold is shares or a membership in the corporation together with a proprietary lease, and legal title sits with the corporation. No Florida statute, rule or decision addresses whether a lady bird deed can be used for a co-op at all. So it is not the right tool. Send me the community documents and I will tell you which kind you have.
What about a 55+ community?
The deed works there as it does anywhere. Age-restricted communities regulate who may live in a home, and whether a forty-year-old heir may move in, rent the home out, or must sell is answered by the community’s governing documents rather than by the deed. For a manufactured home in a 55+ park, the ownership questions above still decide whether a deed can carry the home at all.
The Pasco manufactured-home document checklist
This is what I ask a manufactured-home owner to send before the first call. The column that matches your situation tells me which documents decide the answer. If you are not sure which column you are in, send what you have and I will sort it.
| Document | You own the lot | You rent the lot (land-lease park) | Resident-owned community |
|---|---|---|---|
| How you hold the land | Your recorded deed to the lot, from the Clerk’s Official Records | Your lot lease or rental agreement, its length, and whether it is recorded | Your membership or share certificate, or your recorded lot deed if the community deeds lots |
| How the home is described | The Property Appraiser parcel record, showing whether the home is assessed with the land as real property | The Property Appraiser or Tax Collector record for the home | The Property Appraiser record for the home and, if any, the lot |
| Separate home-title documents | Whether the motor vehicle title was retired, and the RP decal record | The current certificate of title in your name, or the retired-title record if your lot lease is recorded for thirty years or more | The certificate of title, or the retired-title record |
| Community documents | HOA declaration, if there is one | Park rules and prospectus | Cooperative or HOA governing documents |
| What it usually means | A deed may convey home and land together | On an ordinary rented lot, a deed conveys nothing and the home passes by title; a recorded lease of thirty years or more is the exception described above, and only where the home is permanently affixed and its title retired | Depends on whether you hold a deeded lot or a co-op share |
In words, for anyone reading without the table: if you own the lot and the home’s title has been retired, a deed can usually carry both. If you rent the lot on an ordinary lease, the home passes by its certificate of title, not by a deed. A recorded lease of thirty years or more can be treated like owned land, but only if the home is permanently affixed and its title has been retired. If the community is resident-owned, what matters is whether you hold a deeded lot or a cooperative share.
What Should Pasco Owners Tell the Attorney?
Seven facts decide most Pasco lady bird deeds: who owns the property now, what the last recorded deed says, whether you are married, whether a minor child could survive you, whether there is a mortgage, whether the home is your homestead, and who you want to name. Each question below is there because the answer changes the deed.
Current owners and the existing deed
Tell me every person on title now and send the last recorded deed if you have it. I pull the deed from the Pasco County Official Records and read it — the legal description, how title is held on its face, and the marital recitals. That is one instrument, not a title search. I do not do title work: a title search, a title examination, title insurance and curative work are referred to a title company or a real estate attorney.
Lady bird deed fit, by situation
| Your goal or situation | What I look at | Usual next step |
|---|---|---|
| Pass one home to adult children | Whether it is homestead, whether you are married, and what your recorded deed says | Often the cleanest case for this deed |
| Married owner, homestead property | Whether your spouse joins in the deed | Treat the spouse’s signature as required |
| A minor child in the family | Whether a child under eighteen could survive you | On the better reading, the deed does not take effect as to the homestead if one does, though no Florida appellate court has decided it; talk to me before anything is drafted |
| A beneficiary in a divorce, with creditors, or with special needs | Whether an outright inheritance is safe for that person | Consider a trust, or a deed naming a trust |
| Worried about a nursing home or Medicaid estate recovery | Capacity and timing | Sign while capacity is clear |
| Owner losing capacity | Whether a power of attorney expressly grants the authority | Can a power of attorney sign a lady bird deed? |
| Owner lives out of state or winters in Pasco | Where you are domiciled and where you will be when you sign | Remote signing; see my page for out-of-state owners |
Does my spouse have to sign?
On homestead property, treat it as required. Florida’s Constitution requires spousal joinder to transfer homestead, and a waiver of devise rights does not waive that.
What if I have a minor child?
Article X, § 4(c) of the Florida Constitution and § 732.4015 bar devising homestead where the owner is survived by a spouse or a minor child, except a devise to the spouse where no minor child exists. The better reading is that the restriction does reach a lady bird deed, though no Florida appellate court has yet decided it. Section 732.4017(1) treats a lifetime transfer of homestead as something other than a devise only where the owner retains no power to revoke the transfer or revest the interest in herself, and a lady bird deed retains exactly that power. Who counts as a “minor child” is narrower than most people assume: section 731.201(3) expressly excludes a grandchild or a more remote descendant from the word “child.” If a child under eighteen is anywhere in the picture, tell me before anything is drafted.
Can I do a lady bird deed on mortgaged property?
Yes. An existing mortgage does not have to be paid off first, and a lady bird deed on mortgaged property does not make the loan disappear: you still owe it, and you can still refinance, because you kept the power to mortgage without the beneficiaries’ consent, subject to whatever your lender requires. Whether a lender could call the loan due is a separate question. It depends on the loan documents, on the transfer itself, on the beneficiary’s relationship to the borrower, and on the federal protections and servicing rules that apply — the Garn-St Germain Act, at 12 U.S.C. § 1701j-3, is where those federal limits sit. What keeps the practical risk low during your lifetime is that a lender gains nothing by acting: you still live there, you still own it, and you still owe the debt. Documentary stamps on mortgaged property are a separate question again; my page on the tax consequences of a lady bird deed works through it.
Does a lady bird deed affect my Pasco County homestead exemption?
On the home you actually live in, it should not, because you have not stopped owning or occupying it. Deeding the house outright to a child and keeping nothing back does end it — not because of the words “quit claim,” but because the exemption depends on your owning the property and you no longer would, even if you carried on living there. What the deed actually conveys, and what you keep, is what decides it. If you have not yet filed for the Pasco County homestead exemption, the deadline is March 1, with the Pasco County Property Appraiser.
Will my property taxes go up, and do my children keep my cap?
On homestead, ordinarily no. On a second home or rental, confirm with the Property Appraiser how the proposed deed would affect the existing assessment limitation before recording. And the Save Our Homes benefit belongs to the homestead owner; it does not simply travel to whoever inherits. An adult child who takes the house and does not make it their own permanent residence will be assessed as a non-homestead owner going forward. The deed keeps the house out of court. It was never a tax shelter.
Does a lady bird deed protect a Pasco County home from Medicaid?
It is the instrument most commonly used to keep a Florida home out of the probate estate that estate recovery reaches, and it is generally not treated as a transfer for look-back purposes. It is not a guarantee, and it cannot be signed by somebody who no longer understands what they are signing — though capacity is assessed individually, and an existing power of attorney may carry the authority to sign for them.
Who you want to name, and what if one of them dies first?
You can name more than one beneficiary. Understand that you are creating co-owners who have to agree about a house, and that the Florida remedy when they do not is a partition action. What happens if a beneficiary dies before you depends on how the deed was drafted: substitution language sends the interest to that person’s descendants, and a deed without it may let the gift lapse. It is a question you should be asked, and I ask it.
Lady bird deed vs. quit claim deed in Pasco County
Many owners look for a Pasco County quit claim deed form when the result they want is the one this page describes. A quit claim deed transfers whatever interest you have, right now, with no warranty of title. Used the way people usually use it — to “put the house in my son’s name,” handing over the whole interest and keeping nothing back — it is almost always the wrong instrument. That outright transfer ends your homestead exemption, is a gift inside the Medicaid look-back, exposes the property to your son’s creditors and his divorce, and cannot be undone. What causes all of that is the transfer itself, not the words on the form. My page comparing the lady bird deed against a quit claim deed and the other Florida deed forms sets the two side by side.
What Is Included in the $675 Lady Bird Deed Fee?
The $675 fee includes speaking directly with attorney Jose Lorenzo, reading your recorded deed, deed preparation, online notarization, witnesses, county recording fees, and the minimum documentary stamp charge. The $675 is for one lady bird deed on one property. The only tax item outside it is documentary stamp tax above the minimum. Title work is not part of it.
| Included in the $675 | Separate, and scoped before it starts | Not taken on — referred to a title company or real estate attorney |
|---|---|---|
| Speaking directly with attorney Jose Lorenzo Reading your recorded deed Deed preparation Online notarization Witnesses County recording fees The minimum documentary stamp charge |
Documentary stamp tax above the minimum A deed for a second property, or a corrective deed for an earlier instrument A probate or an ancillary administration Reviewing a will, trust or association documents |
Title search Title examination Title insurance Curative title work |
Consultation, drafting and execution
The standard $675 covers one new lady bird deed on one property. A deed for a second property, a corrective deed that replaces or fixes an earlier deed, or documents that conflict with each other are additional work that I do, quoted once I have read the recorded deed and before that work starts. A probate or an ancillary administration is also separate work. Title work is different: a title search, a title examination, title insurance, and curative work on older defective conveyances in the chain of title are not work I take on, and I refer them to a title company or a real estate attorney.
Recording and the minimum documentary stamp
Pasco County recording fees are set by statute: $10.00 for the first page and $8.50 for each page after it. My deed runs up to four pages, and a four-page deed is $35.50 in page charges; recording is inside the $675 whether the deed is two pages or four. The minimum documentary stamp charge is inside it too. Documentary stamp tax above the minimum is a state tax rather than a fee, and I work it out and explain it to you before you decide to proceed. The rate is seventy cents per $100 under § 201.02, and Pasco County levies no discretionary surtax — Miami-Dade is the county with a different arrangement.
Paying for the deed
By a payment link we send, or by wire transfer where that is possible. A family member can pay; paying does not make that person the client.
After a death: the $475 lady bird deed review
After a death, a review of the Lady Bird deed with a 30-minute consultation is $475.
That is the whole of it: a review of the recorded lady bird deed and a thirty-minute consultation. Further work — a probate, or a new or corrective deed — is scoped and quoted separately before it begins, and title work is not included in the review. This is separate from the free introductory call, which is for people deciding whether to sign a deed in the first place. For what a family does with the deed after a death, see what to do with a lady bird deed after death.
How Does the Pasco Signing and Recording Process Work?
All of it is remote. You do not visit an office, a courthouse or a recording counter. My part and the Clerk’s part are separate, and the steps below show which is which.
Prepare for the appointment: from first call to recorded deed
- Free introductory call. You speak to me about the property, the family and your timing, and I give you an initial view on whether a deed is the right answer at all.
- Recorded deed read and fee confirmed. I pull and read your recorded deed from the Pasco County Official Records and confirm the fee before any drafting starts.
- Hiring and payment. A payment link, or a wire transfer where that is possible.
- Instructions confirmed. I confirm your wishes with you by phone and by email, and I confirm who may join the calls and receive information. If a son or daughter arranged the call, I still speak with you, the owner, directly.
- Drafting. Usually 24 to 48 hours from the time I have spoken with you, been hired and had you confirm your instructions, to the deed being ready to sign.
- Online signing. You sign on a computer or tablet with a camera, before an online notary, with the two witnesses in the same session and a valid, unexpired photo ID. That includes signing from a hospital or an assisted living facility, after I have spoken with you by phone.
- Recording. We submit the signed deed electronically to the Pasco County Clerk & Comptroller.
- Receive the recorded instrument. The recorded deed, with its book and page or instrument number, goes to you and to anyone you authorize me to send it to.
Is there a Pasco County recorder of deeds?
Not as a separate office. In Pasco County the recorder is the Pasco County Clerk & Comptroller, Nikki Alvarez-Sowles: the Clerk’s Official Records Department describes itself as the County Recorder, and it records deeds, mortgages and liens. The Official Records are where your deed is recorded and where anyone can find it afterward.
Where is a deed recorded in Pasco County?
The Pasco County Clerk & Comptroller accepts documents in person at the East Pasco Government Center, 14236 Sixth Street, Suite 201, Dade City, and the West Pasco Government Center, 8731 Citizens Drive, Suite 220, New Port Richey. For mailed documents, use the separate mailing addresses listed on the Clerk’s Official Records page. Electronic recording is also available. The walk-in recording counters are at the government centers, not in the courtrooms of the Robert D. Sumner Judicial Center in Dade City or the West Pasco Judicial Center on Little Road. Wesley Chapel, Land O’ Lakes and the Pasco side of Lutz and Odessa record in Dade City or New Port Richey too, not in Tampa. In a matter I handle, the deed is e-recorded, so nobody needs to stand at a counter in either one.
Do I need to visit the courthouse myself?
No. Your part is the phone call, the documents and the online signing. We submit the deed, the Clerk records it, and the recorded copy comes back to you. How long the Clerk takes to record is up to the Clerk; once the deed is recorded, we send you the recorded copy.
Does a lady bird deed have to be recorded and notarized?
To function in any practical sense, it has to be recorded, and it should be recorded during your lifetime. An unrecorded deed can still be good between you and your beneficiary, but failing to record it can expose your beneficiaries’ interest to competing claims, such as those of a later buyer or creditor. It also has to be notarized, and it needs two individual subscribing witnesses as well. Both witnesses sign and print, with addresses, for the Pasco County Clerk.
Does recording confirm the deed is legally right for me?
No. What the recording process checks is formatting: page dimensions, margins, legibility, whether the fees tendered match the fees due. It does not check whether the person signing had power to convey what the deed purports to convey, whether the legal description matches the chain of title, or whether the retained powers that make this a lady bird deed are actually present in the text. A clean acceptance means the document was formatted correctly. It has never meant the document works.
How do I search Pasco County deed records?
The Pasco County Clerk’s Official Records search is free, and a Pasco County deed search by owner name will find the deed that put the property in your hands. That document, not the tax bill and not the Property Appraiser’s parcel page, is where the legal description for a new deed has to come from. The Pasco County Property Appraiser’s property search is the place to confirm the parcel number, the county and whether a homestead exemption is on the roll. If you cannot find your deed, I pull it for you.
How do I get a copy of my recorded deed?
You can get a copy of your recorded deed from the Pasco County Clerk & Comptroller, or from me once your new deed is recorded. Ignore mailed offers to sell you a copy. In June 2019 Pasco officials warned residents about letters from a private company charging $89 for deed copies that can be viewed free online (FOX 13). The letters are not a bill and not a government notice. The Clerk’s own charge is $1 a page for a copy, plus $2 a document to certify it.
Protect the recorded deed: the Pasco County Property Fraud Alert
Once your deed is recorded, sign up for the Clerk’s Property Fraud Alert. It is free: you choose the personal or business names to monitor, and the Clerk alerts you by email or phone when a document is recorded in Pasco County under one of them. You can register online or by calling (800) 728-3858. The alert does not stop a fraudulent document from being recorded; it tells you quickly so you can act. For an owner who winters in Pasco and spends the rest of the year elsewhere, it is the simplest protection there is.
Serving West and East Pasco Communities
For a lady bird deed in Pasco County, Florida, the law is the same across the county. What differs from one end of Pasco to the other is the kind of property people own and the family situations that bring them to call.
New Port Richey and west Pasco
A New Port Richey lady bird deed is often for a long-held home in Port Richey, Holiday, Hudson or Trinity, or for a manufactured home in one of the west Pasco parks, where the first question is whether the lot is owned or rented. West Pasco’s recording location is the West Pasco Government Center on Citizens Drive. Owners here are frequently widowed, and a surviving spouse who inherited the house years ago should send me that recorded deed too, because how the title passed at the first death decides what the new deed has to say.
Wesley Chapel, Land O’ Lakes and south Pasco
A Wesley Chapel lady bird deed is often arranged by an adult son or daughter for a parent who moved nearby, or by a younger owner with a mortgage and a new subdivision’s association and community development district on the tax bill. A district assessment stays with the land, and the person who inherits takes the remaining installments along with the house. A Land O’ Lakes lady bird deed is the same deed recorded with the same Clerk. If you are arranging a deed for a parent, my page on helping a parent get a Florida lady bird deed sets out who does what; the parent remains the client.
Zephyrhills, Dade City and east Pasco
Dade City is the county seat, and the East Pasco Government Center there is the county’s other recording location. Zephyrhills is known for its 55+ and manufactured-home communities, many of them seasonal, which is why the manufactured-home document checklist matters most here: land-lease, resident-owned and owned-lot communities can sit a mile apart. A Zephyrhills lady bird deed for a winter resident is signed online from wherever the owner is in the summer.
My mailing address says Lutz, Odessa, Spring Hill or Tampa. Is my home in Pasco?
Possibly, and the mailing address will not tell you. Lutz straddles the Hillsborough–Pasco line, Odessa addresses in ZIP code 33556 are used in both counties, and some addresses west of I-75 near Wesley Chapel carry a Lutz mailing address. To the north, many “Spring Hill” mailing addresses in ZIP 34610 are Pasco parcels, although the community of Spring Hill itself is in Hernando County. The reliable test is the parcel record on the Pasco County Property Appraiser’s property search, or the county shown on your last recorded deed. The county decides which Clerk records the deed, which Property Appraiser handles the homestead exemption, and which circuit would hear a probate. I check the parcel before drafting. If it turns out to be in Hillsborough, my Tampa lady bird deed page covers that county; if it is in Pinellas, see my Pinellas County lady bird deed page.
Hypothetical — a Zephyrhills winter resident. A widower from Michigan spends November to April in a Zephyrhills manufactured-home community and wants the home to go to his daughter. He is not sure whether he owns the lot. He sends his recorded lot deed, the Property Appraiser record and the park’s documents. The lot is deeded to him and the home’s title was retired years ago, so a lady bird deed can carry both. He signs online from Michigan in June, we submit the deed to the Pasco County Clerk, and the recorded copy goes to him and to his daughter.
Hypothetical — a Wesley Chapel family. A son in Wesley Chapel calls about his mother’s house in a New Port Richey neighborhood. I speak with his mother directly, confirm her wishes by phone and email, and confirm that her son may join the calls. Her mail says New Port Richey and the parcel is in Pasco. She signs online, and the recorded deed goes to her and, with her permission, to her son.
When Is More Than a Deed Needed?
If the goal is to avoid probate on one home and the family is straightforward, the deed is usually the better value. Some goals are different goals, and a deed does not reach them.
| The goal | What a lady bird deed does | What addresses it |
|---|---|---|
| Pass one Pasco home at death without probate | Does this | The deed alone |
| Someone to act for you if you become incapacitated | Nothing | A durable power of attorney and a health care surrogate designation |
| Several properties, or property in several counties | Covers only the property it describes | A deed for each, or a revocable trust |
| A beneficiary who is a minor, has creditors, or receives needs-based benefits | Gives the property outright | A trust, sometimes named as the deed’s beneficiary |
| Bank accounts, vehicles and everything else | Nothing | A will, and beneficiary designations |
Documents for incapacity
A lady bird deed does nothing if you become incapacitated. A durable power of attorney and a health care surrogate designation are worth having whether or not you sign a deed.
Goals involving several beneficiaries or properties
One house and a straightforward family generally favors the deed. Multiple properties, minor or vulnerable beneficiaries, a blended family, or a concern about incapacity generally favors a trust. A beneficiary in a divorce, with judgment creditors, or who cannot manage money receives the house outright under a deed; a trust can condition, stage or protect a gift. If a beneficiary receives needs-based benefits, a properly drafted special needs trust, sometimes named as the deed’s beneficiary, is the instrument that handles it. My comparison of the Florida lady bird deed versus a living trust works through the trade-offs. Reviewing a will or trust is a separate service from the $675 deed.
Does a lady bird deed override my will?
For that parcel, yes. So make sure your will and the deed say the same thing about the house.
What happens without the deed: probate for Pasco property
Probate for Pasco County property is heard in the Sixth Judicial Circuit, which covers Pasco and Pinellas counties. There is no separate probate court in Florida — the probate division is a division of the circuit court. The form of probate depends on the estate. In a formal administration, a personal representative is appointed, an inventory is filed and a creditor period is run, and the file is public from the day it opens. Smaller estates may qualify for summary administration, which is faster and cheaper but still a court proceeding with its own thresholds and its own risks.
What are the disadvantages of a lady bird deed?
It covers only the property it describes. It does nothing if you become incapacitated. It hands the property to your beneficiary outright, with no protection against their creditors, their divorce, or their inability to manage it. Once recorded, it is public record. And it does not, by itself, preserve your assessment cap for them. If any of those matter in your family, a trust is the better instrument.
Start a Pasco County Deed Inquiry
What to send to Lorenzo Law
- The county the property is in — Pasco, or the county you believe it is in if your address says Lutz, Odessa, Spring Hill or Tampa
- The current owner or owners, and whether you are married
- A copy of the recorded deed, if you have it to hand
- For a manufactured home: whether you own the lot, rent it, or belong to a resident-owned community, and the documents from the manufactured-home document checklist
- When you would like to sign, and where you will be
That is enough for the free introductory call. Nothing confidential is needed before we have agreed that I will represent you.
Is there a lady bird deed attorney near me in Pasco?
I serve Pasco County property owners remotely and do not have a Pasco County office. A Pasco County deed is recorded with the Pasco County Clerk no matter where the attorney who drafts it is, and the signing happens wherever you are, so the nearest lawyer is not necessarily the one on the nearest street. What is worth choosing on is whether the person drafting it read your recorded deed first.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the lady bird deed service available throughout Pasco County, including Land O’ Lakes?
Yes. I prepare lady bird deeds for property anywhere in Pasco County — Land O’ Lakes, Wesley Chapel, New Port Richey, Zephyrhills, Dade City, Trinity, Holiday, Hudson, San Antonio and the unincorporated areas. I do not have a Pasco office; the deed is signed online and recorded with the Pasco County Clerk & Comptroller.
Does the Pasco County Clerk have a lady bird deed form?
No. The Pasco County Clerk & Comptroller’s Official Records Form Center lists no lady bird deed or other deed forms, and the Clerk records documents rather than drafting them. If you want to see what a Florida lady bird deed needs, my page on the Florida lady bird deed form walks through it.
Does the $675 include recording in Pasco County?
Yes. The $675 includes the Pasco County recording fees and the minimum documentary stamp charge, along with speaking directly with me, reading your recorded deed, deed preparation, online notarization and witnesses. Documentary stamp tax above that minimum is separate, and I work it out and explain it before you decide to proceed.
Will my mortgage disappear or change because of the lady bird deed?
No. A lady bird deed does not pay off, cancel or rewrite a mortgage: the loan stays in place, you still owe it, and you keep the power to refinance. Whether the lender could call the loan due is a separate question that turns on the loan documents and the federal rules, explained in the mortgage answer above.
Can I arrange a lady bird deed for my parent in Pasco?
Yes. An adult child can make the first call, gather the documents and schedule the signing, and can pay the fee. Your parent is the client: I speak with your parent directly, confirm their wishes by phone and email, and confirm who may join the calls. The owner signs the deed, or an agent signs under a power of attorney that expressly grants that authority.
Can I change beneficiaries, revoke the deed or sell later?
Yes to all three, as often as you like; that is the enhancement the name refers to. You do not need a signature from anyone named in the deed and you do not owe them any part of the proceeds. Spouse, co-owner and lender requirements are separate and still apply. Changing or undoing the deed takes another recorded instrument, with the same Pasco County Clerk at the same charges.
Is a lady bird deed public record in Pasco County?
Yes. Once recorded, the deed and the people you named are in the Pasco County Official Records, searchable by anyone. If privacy matters to you, a trust keeps its terms out of those records, and naming your revocable trust as the beneficiary is one way to combine the two.
Does Florida have a transfer on death deed?
Not for real property. Forms sold nationally as transfer on death deeds or beneficiary deeds have no statutory footing in Florida. The enhanced life estate deed is the Florida equivalent, and it is a common law instrument rather than a statutory one.
Can a lady bird deed be contested in Florida?
Yes, a lady bird deed can be challenged, as any deed can. My page on whether a lady bird deed can be contested in Florida explains the grounds and how those cases run.
Talk to a Pasco County Lady Bird Deed Attorney
To speak directly with me about a lady bird deed in Pasco County, Florida, call (305) 224-6811 or use the contact form. The introductory call is free. The $675 fee includes speaking directly with attorney Jose Lorenzo, reading your recorded deed, deed preparation, online notarization, witnesses, county recording fees, and the minimum documentary stamp charge. Documentary stamp tax above the minimum is separate, and title work is not part of it. On the first call, we discuss your goals and the property. I confirm whether a lady bird deed is appropriate after reviewing your recorded deed and the relevant family and ownership facts.
Related reading: the statewide lady bird deed attorney page sets out the fee and what it buys, the Florida lady bird deed guide covers the general rules, and the Tampa and Pinellas County pages cover the neighboring counties.
Last updated: September 24, 2026.
Written and reviewed by Jose M. Lorenzo, Jr., attorney, Florida Bar No. 107002.
This page is general information about Florida law and does not constitute legal advice for any particular situation. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.