Highlands County Personal Representative Deed (Intestate) Form

A Florida Personal Representative Deed (Intestate) is used when Florida real property is being transferred from an estate where the owner died without a will and the probate court has appointed a personal representative. Florida is different from many states because an intestate personal representative does not rely on a will-based power of sale: for an intestate estate, Florida law allows the personal representative to sell estate real property, but no title passes until the circuit court authorizes or confirms the sale (Fla. Stat. § 733.613(1)). Florida also removes protected homestead from the ordinary assets in the personal representative’s hands, so the deed must fit the probate authority and the property’s homestead status rather than simply name the estate as grantor (Fla. Stat. § 733.608(1)).

When a Florida Personal Representative Deed (Intestate) Is Used

This deed is commonly used in a Florida probate administration when a decedent left no valid will, the circuit court has issued letters of administration, and the personal representative needs to document a transfer of Florida real estate from the intestate estate to a buyer, heir, or other grantee. The deed connects the recorded land records to the probate case by identifying the decedent, the personal representative’s fiduciary capacity, the court authority for the transfer, the grantee, the consideration, and the Florida legal description.

Florida Probate Authority for an Intestate Transfer

In a Florida intestate estate, property not effectively disposed of by will passes to the decedent’s heirs under Florida’s intestacy statutes, and the heirs’ rights vest at death (Fla. Stat. § 732.101). The personal representative still has statutory authority over non-homestead estate property for administration, claims, expenses, and distribution (Fla. Stat. § 733.608(1)).

Florida gives priority for appointment in an intestate estate first to the surviving spouse, then to the person selected by a majority in interest of the heirs, and then to the heir nearest in degree, subject to the court’s selection among qualified applicants (Fla. Stat. § 733.301(1)(b)). The deed should therefore identify the grantor as the appointed personal representative, not as an individual owner acting personally.

For an intestate sale of estate real property, Florida’s key rule is that the personal representative may sell at public or private sale when the sale is considered in the estate’s and interested persons’ best interest, but title does not pass until the court authorizes or confirms the sale (Fla. Stat. § 733.613(1)). A purchaser or lender taking under a court order authorizing or confirming the act takes free of estate creditor claims and beneficiary entitlements, subject to existing mortgages and other liens against the real property (Fla. Stat. § 733.613(3)).

Execution Requirements for Florida Deeds

Florida requires a deed conveying an interest in real property to be signed in the presence of two subscribing witnesses (Fla. Stat. § 689.01(1)). This witness requirement is a Florida-specific detail that differs from many states, where notarization alone may be enough for a deed. For recording, the deed must also be acknowledged by the person executing it, proved by a subscribing witness, or otherwise authenticated under Florida’s recording statute (Fla. Stat. § 695.03).

The personal representative signs the deed in a representative capacity, using the name and title that match the probate appointment. Florida recording rules also require the printed, typewritten, or stamped name and post-office address of each person who signs, the name and post-office address of the natural person who prepared the instrument or supervised its preparation, the printed name and post-office address of each witness, the notary’s printed name, required clerk recording space, and the grantee’s name and post-office address (Fla. Stat. § 695.26(1)).

Florida Recording Traps for Intestate Estate Deeds

• Protected homestead: Florida protected homestead is excluded from the personal representative’s ordinary estate assets, although the personal representative may take limited possession to preserve, insure, and protect apparently protected homestead while status is pending (Fla. Stat. § 733.608(1)-(2)). If the decedent is survived by a spouse and descendants, Florida homestead may descend as a life estate to the surviving spouse with a vested remainder to descendants, unless the spouse makes the statutory election for an undivided one-half tenant-in-common interest within the required time (Fla. Stat. § 732.401(1)-(2)).
• Homestead spousal rules: Florida’s constitution restricts homestead devise and provides that an owner of homestead real estate, if married, alienates the homestead by mortgage, sale, or gift with the spouse joined (Fla. Const. art. X, § 4(c)). Because an intestate estate often requires title review of marital status, surviving spouse rights, and minor child issues, deed recitals and probate orders are closely reviewed when homestead could be involved.
• Marital status recitals: Florida clerks record many deeds based on statutory formatting, but title problems can arise when the deed or probate record does not make clear whether the decedent was married at death or whether homestead rights were implicated. In an intestate deed, marital-status information is tied to heirship and homestead review rather than ordinary seller identity.
• Court order alignment: For an intestate sale, the deed should be consistent with the Florida probate order authorizing or confirming the sale, because section 733.613 provides that title does not pass before that court action. Mismatched names, legal descriptions, prices, or probate case references can create questions in the county land records.
• Preparer identification: Florida requires the deed to show the name and post-office address of the natural person who prepared the instrument or under whose supervision it was prepared (Fla. Stat. § 695.26(1)(b)).
• Witness names and addresses: Florida recording requirements include the printed name and post-office address of each witness, not just witness signatures (Fla. Stat. § 695.26(1)(c)).
• Legal description and plat references: The deed should use the full Florida legal description from the prior recorded deed or other title source. For platted property, that typically means the lot, block, subdivision name, plat book, page, and county records reference. A street address or property appraiser parcel number is not a substitute for the legal description.
• Parcel identification number: Florida deed statutes for common deed forms make clear that the property appraiser’s parcel identification number, when included, is not part of and cannot replace the legal description (Fla. Stat. §§ 689.02(2), 689.025(3)).
• Documentary stamp tax: Florida imposes documentary stamp tax on deeds and other instruments transferring an interest in Florida real property based on consideration, including money, discharge of obligations, and mortgage or lien amounts (Fla. Stat. § 201.02(1)(a)). The general rate is 70 cents per $100 or fraction of consideration, while Miami-Dade County uses a different structure with a discretionary surtax that does not apply to a document transferring only a single-family residence (Fla. Stat. §§ 201.02(1)(a), 201.031).
• Ancillary probate: If the decedent was not a Florida resident but owned Florida real property, Florida ancillary administration may be involved. An ancillary personal representative has the same rights, powers, and authority as other Florida personal representatives to manage, sell, lease, or mortgage local property, subject to Florida probate limits (Fla. Stat. § 734.102(7)).

Recording the Deed in Florida County Records

A Florida personal representative deed is recorded with the clerk of the circuit court in the county where the real property is located. Recording places the transfer in the county’s official records and helps connect the probate authority to the public chain of title. Florida’s recording statute provides that a conveyance, transfer, or mortgage of real property is not effective against creditors or subsequent purchasers for value without notice unless it is recorded according to law (Fla. Stat. § 695.01(1)).

Prompt recording matters because the recorded deed gives public notice of the transfer and supports the grantee’s record title. The clerk will review formatting requirements such as signature blocks, witness information, notary information, grantee address, preparer information, recording space, fees, and documentary stamp tax. Some probate transfers also record or reference the order authorizing or confirming the sale so the county land records show the source of the personal representative’s authority.

Vesting Options and Survivorship Language in Florida

The grantee section of a Florida intestate personal representative deed should state how the new owner will hold title. Florida does not presume survivorship merely because two or more people receive title together. Except for estates by the entirety, a transfer to two or more persons creates a tenancy in common unless the instrument expressly provides for a right of survivorship (Fla. Stat. § 689.15).

Florida recognizes tenancy by the entirety for married spouses, and section 689.15 treats estates by the entirety differently from ordinary joint ownership. For unmarried co-owners, survivorship must be stated clearly in the deed to avoid default tenancy-in-common treatment. This vesting language is separate from the personal representative’s authority; it describes the grantee’s title after the estate transfer is recorded.

What the Florida Personal Representative Deed (Intestate) Download Includes

• A county-specific Florida Personal Representative Deed (Intestate) form prepared by Deeds.com’s forms development team
• Step-by-step guidelines for completing and recording the deed in Florida
• A completed example showing how the form may be filled out
• Florida-focused prompts for the decedent, personal representative, probate case, court authority, grantee, consideration, legal description, witnesses, notary acknowledgment, and recording information