Clear Money Guide
What this guide covers
A quick view of the questions and evidence developed below.
Guides › Transfer-on-Death Deeds
Updated July 31, 2026. Quick answer: no — Florida does not have transfer-on-death deeds for real estate, and the widely repeated claim that a 2024 law created them is false. The statute those articles cite, Fla. Stat. §732.4015, governs homestead devise restrictions — we pulled the current text to check, and it says nothing about TOD deeds. What Florida actually uses is the Lady Bird deed (enhanced life estate deed), a different instrument that accomplishes the same probate avoidance with retained control.
Why the confusion exists, and what to actually do
Florida allows TOD registration for securities and vehicles — so “transfer on death” is a real phrase in Florida law, just not for houses — and AI search summaries have been repeating the 2024 myth confidently. The working tools for a Florida home: the Lady Bird deed (no beneficiary consent needed to sell or revoke; Medicaid-planning friendly), the revocable living trust, and — for spouses — Florida’s homestead and tenancy rules, which impose their own devise restrictions that surprise second-marriage families (that IS what §732.4015 does).
What avoiding probate is worth here: Florida probate cost and the presumed personal-representative fee. Which states DO have the deed: the verified 51-jurisdiction table.
Florida does not have this deed
As the page sets out, Florida authorises no transfer on death deed for real property, whatever the national lists say; the lady bird deed is the Florida instrument and it is prepared locally. What a Florida estate does still need is a will — LawDepot builds a state-specific last will and testament.
LawDepot pays us a commission if you buy through this link — it costs you nothing extra. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice. Affiliate Disclosure.
Provenance verdict
FALSE “Florida authorised transfer-on-death deeds”
Evidence tier: primary. The statute the claim rests on, Fla. Stat. §732.4015, governs homestead devise restrictions. We fetched the current text and it does not create, mention or contemplate a transfer-on-death deed. The number of the statute is real; what it does is not what the claim says it does.
The full audit — including which publishers currently say what, with dates — is at the Provenance File, which carries no advertising. The verdict taxonomy is published here.
What to cite instead
“Florida does not authorise a transfer-on-death deed for real property. Florida owners use an enhanced life estate (‘Lady Bird’) deed instead. Fla. Stat. §732.4015, sometimes cited as authority for a Florida TOD deed, governs homestead devise restrictions.”
Source: Clear Money Guide, Florida Does Not Have TOD Deeds, 2026. Free to reuse with attribution under CC BY 4.0.
The statute-cited list of all 51 jurisdictions is at transfer-on-death deed states.