Lady Bird Deed
(Enhanced Life Estate Deed)

A Lady Bird Deed (sometimes called an Enhanced Life Estate Deed) is a deed that lets the grantor (the one giving the property) reserve an “enhanced” life estate with the ability to sell, gift, or otherwise make use of or dispose of the entire property, but if the grantor still owns it at the time they die, the property transfers outside of probate to the remainder beneficiary named in the deed. If the life estate holder sells the property or revokes the deed before they die, the remainder beneficiary does not get anything, so the grantor maintains almost total control during their lifetime.

Lady Bird Deeds differ from normal life estate deeds because, with the latter, the life estate holder can only dispose of their life estate interest, not the entire property, unless the remainder beneficiary joins in the transaction. In other words, when the life estate holder dies, the remainder beneficiary will receive the property unless the remainder beneficiary agrees otherwise. But with a Lady Bird Deed, the remainder beneficiary is not guaranteed to get anything, regardless of whether they refuse to join in a sale—the life estate holder has the final say.

Lady Bird Deeds can be a useful, inexpensive way to transfer real property outside of probate, especially for smaller estates where a home may be the only asset that would otherwise have to go through probate.