Updated October 1, 2026. Quick answer: Texas allows two different deeds that pass a home at death. A transfer on death deed is created by Estates Code chapter 114 and is revocable, recorded before death and gives the beneficiary no interest while the owner lives. A Lady Bird deed, which Texas Health and Human Services calls an enhanced life estate deed, is the other version: the owner keeps a life estate with the right to sell. Chapter 114 says it does not affect other methods of transferring real property that Texas law permits.
Related reading on this site: Texas affidavit of heirship.
Two instruments, one job
The statutory deed is the one Texas lawmakers wrote down. Chapter 114 opens with its short title, the “Texas Real Property Transfer on Death Act”, and defines the instrument narrowly: a transfer on death deed “means a deed authorized under this chapter and does not refer to any other deed that transfers an interest in real property on the death of an individual”. Section 114.004 adds that the chapter “does not affect any method of transferring real property otherwise permitted under the laws of this state”. A Lady Bird deed falls outside that definition. Texas Health and Human Services defines it as “A legal document (sometimes known as a Lady Bird Deed) in which one transfers property to their heirs while at the same time retaining a life estate with powers including the right to sell the property in their lifetime”.
How the two deeds compare under Texas sources
| Transfer on death deed | Lady Bird (enhanced life estate) deed | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it comes from | Estates Code chapter 114 (statute) | Not a chapter 114 deed; Texas Medicaid’s glossary defines it as an enhanced life estate deed |
| Owner’s power while alive | Section 114.101 says the deed does not affect the transferor’s right to transfer or encumber the property | A life estate with powers, including the right to sell |
| Can the owner revoke it | Yes; section 114.052 says it is revocable regardless of any contrary provision | Not set out in the Texas sources read here |
| What makes it effective | Section 114.055: a recordable deed that states the transfer occurs at death and is recorded before death | Not set out in the Texas sources read here |
| Beneficiary’s interest during life | Section 114.101: no legal or equitable interest | Not set out in the Texas sources read here |
| Notice or consideration needed | Section 114.056: neither | Not set out in the Texas sources read here |
What chapter 114 requires, exactly
To be effective, section 114.055 says a transfer on death deed must: “except as otherwise provided in Subdivision (2), contain the essential elements and formalities of a recordable deed”; “state that the transfer of an interest in real property to the designated beneficiary is to occur at the transferor’s death”; and “be recorded before the transferor’s death in the deed records in the county clerk’s office of the county where the real property is located”. Section 114.054 adds that “A transfer on death deed may not be created through use of a power of attorney”, and section 114.057 says “A will may not revoke or supersede a transfer on death deed”. Those rules are for the statutory deed. The Texas sources read for this page set out no matching statute for the Lady Bird deed, so how one is drafted and recorded is a question for a Texas real-property lawyer.
What a Texas deed does not cover
A deed passes one piece of real property. What a Texas estate does still need is a will for everything the deed does not reach. LawDepot builds a state-specific last will and testament.
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How Texas Medicaid treats a Lady Bird deed
This is a short section on purpose: the page is about the deed and the house. The Texas HHSC handbook says of an enhanced life estate deed that “Since the life estate holder retains the power to sell the property, its value as a resource is its full equity value”, and that “All Enhanced Life Estate Deeds must be reviewed by the regional attorney”. The handbook’s chapter on transfer of the home (revision 20-4, effective December 1, 2020) lists who can receive a home without a transfer penalty:
| Transfer of the home to | Handbook I-3100 condition |
|---|---|
| Spouse | A spouse who lives in the home |
| Child | A minor child under age 21, or a child who is disabled under Social Security criteria |
| Sibling | A sibling with an equity interest in the home who lived there for at least 1 year before the person entered an institution |
| Caregiver child | A son or daughter who lived in the home for at least 2 years before institutionalization and provided care that kept the person out of an institution |
| Children, siblings and others, by deed | If the deed is an enhanced life estate or Transfer on Death deed approved by the regional attorney and the person signs a statement of intent to return to the home |
The last row is the one that matters here, and the handbook’s own wording is “if the deed is an enhanced life estate or Transfer on Death deed and has been approved by the regional attorney, and the person signs a statement that they intend to return to the home”. The full treatment, and the other states, are on the Lady Bird deed and Medicaid page.
Which Texas deed to ask a lawyer about
If the goal is the simplest recorded transfer at death, the statutory deed has written rules and is covered on the Texas transfer on death deed page. If the owner wants the Lady Bird deed, the questions to bring are the ones the Texas sources raise: what powers the deed reserves, how it is recorded, and whether Medicaid eligibility may become a question later. The side-by-side of the two instruments in general terms is on Lady Bird deed versus TOD deed.
Common mistakes
- Calling a Lady Bird deed a transfer on death deed. Chapter 114 defines the statutory deed so that other deeds are excluded.
- Trying to use a power of attorney to sign a transfer on death deed. Section 114.054 forbids it.
- Assuming a will can undo a recorded transfer on death deed. Section 114.057 says it cannot.
- Recording nothing before death. A statutory transfer on death deed must be recorded before the transferor dies.
- Treating a Lady Bird deed as invisible to Texas Medicaid. The handbook counts its full equity value as a resource unless the home is otherwise excluded.
Related on this site: the Texas transfer on death deed, Lady Bird deed versus TOD deed and Lady Bird deeds and Medicaid.
Sources
- Texas Estates Code chapter 114, Transfer on Death Deed (Texas Legislature): https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/ES/htm/ES.114.htm
- Texas Health and Human Services, Medicaid for the Elderly and People with Disabilities Handbook, MEPD Glossary: https://fhb.hhs.texas.gov/handbooks/medicaid-elderly-people-disabilities-handbook/mepd-glossary
- Texas Health and Human Services, Medicaid for the Elderly and People with Disabilities Handbook, I-3100, Transfer of Home: https://fhb.hhs.texas.gov/handbooks/medicaid-elderly-people-disabilities-handbook/i-3100-transfer-home
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 1, 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a Florida, Texas or Vermont real-property lawyer, or a tax preparer, is the right place to confirm anything consequential.