Highlands County Life Estate Quitclaim Deed Form

A Florida life estate quitclaim deed does two things in one recorded instrument: it conveys the property to the people who will own it after the grantor's death, and it keeps the grantor in possession for life. This form prepares that deed in the form Section 689.025, Florida Statutes, prescribes for a quitclaim, with a life estate reserved to one or two grantors conveying in their own right.

A remainder conveyed now, possession kept for life

The operative sentence is the statute's: the first party does hereby remise, release, and quitclaim unto the second party forever all the right, title, interest, claim, and demand the first party has in the described land. The reservation paragraph then states the contrary intention Section 689.10 contemplates, keeping a life estate in the grantor with the right to possess and occupy the property and to receive its rents and income. The grantee receives the remainder at signing, a present interest that becomes an estate in possession when the life estate ends; because the remainder was conveyed by a deed recorded during the grantor's life, the change of possession at death is a matter of the public record rather than a probate proceeding.

With two grantors, the deed reserves the life estate for their joint lives and for the life of the survivor, so the remainder becomes possessory at the second death. The reservation reads to every person who signs as first party, including a spouse joining in the conveyance of a homestead under article X, section 4(c) of the Florida Constitution.

An ordinary life estate, not an enhanced one

Florida practice knows two reservations that look alike and operate differently. The enhanced life estate, commonly called a lady bird deed, reserves a power to sell, mortgage, or otherwise divest the remainder without the remainder holder's joinder. This deed reserves no such power and says so. The remainder is the grantee's from delivery, a later sale or mortgage of the whole property involves both the life tenant and the remainder holder, and the grantor cannot undo the conveyance alone. The guide describes the Department of Revenue rule under which a life estate supports a homestead exemption claim.

Who the deed recites

The form carries one free-form entry for the first party, Grantor, and one for the second party, Grantee, each sized for one or two natural persons with a post office address under each, and it preprints nothing about marital status or how the grantees hold the remainder. One or two grantors conveying to one or two grantees, with status words and any survivorship or entireties designation written in as the record shows them, is the configuration the deed recites; the completed example shows two spouses conveying to two grantees as joint tenants with right of survivorship. A corporation, trustee, or attorney in fact as grantor, a trust or entity as remainder holder, or three or more persons on either side is a different instrument the deed is not set up to recite.

Two witnesses for each grantor, and a certificate for each

Section 689.01 requires a Florida conveyance of a freehold interest to be signed in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, and since January 1, 2024, Section 695.26 has made each witness's printed name and post office address recording data. The deed carries two grantor signature blocks with two witness blocks under each, and an acknowledgment certificate for each grantor in the Section 695.25(1) short form, with a reserved area for the rubber stamp seal Section 117.05 requires. A one-grantor conveyance leaves the second block, its witnesses, and its certificate blank.

Recording and the documentary stamp

The deed is recorded with the clerk of the circuit court of the county where the land lies, with the clerk's three-inch square reserved at the top right of the first page and the parcel identification number blank Section 689.025(3) calls for. Documentary stamp tax under Section 201.02 is collected at recording on the consideration, which includes the balance of any mortgage on the property whether or not the grantee assumes it, so a life estate deed of mortgaged property to a child is taxed on that balance.

The package includes the fillable life estate quitclaim deed, a completed example filled in for a Volusia County fact pattern, and the guide to every entry, the signing ceremony, and recording. This description and the guide describe the form and the governing Florida statutes in general terms; they are not legal advice.