Highlands County Special Warranty Deed (Two Grantors by Attorney-in-Fact) Form

Two Florida owners can convey a parcel by one special warranty deed without either of them signing it. Each grantor's name appears in the deed, and each signature belongs to an attorney-in-fact acting under that grantor's recorded power of attorney. Two grantors, natural persons holding title in their own names, convey in fee simple through two signature blocks and two certificates, warranting title only against claims arising by, through, or under them.

Two principals, two powers, two signatures

Under section 709.2201(1) of the Florida Power of Attorney Act an agent exercises only authority specifically granted in the power of attorney, and a general grant to do all acts the principal could do grants nothing. Because each grantor's authority is separate, the deed keeps the two chains separate. Section 2 names each grantor's attorney-in-fact with the date and recording reference of that grantor's power of attorney, and the operative paragraph conveys by and through those agents. One person holding powers from both grantors appears twice and signs both blocks.

Why the powers of attorney reach the record first

Section 695.01(1) ties the deed's protection to the recording of each power of attorney: against creditors and later purchasers for value without notice, a deed made under a power of attorney is effectual only if that power was of record before their rights accrued. A power not yet of record is recorded in the county of the land before or with the deed.

A certificate for each agent

Each certificate follows the section 695.25(5) short form for a principal acting by an attorney in fact: the officer names the agent, states that the agent acknowledged as attorney in fact and was personally known or produced the identification stated, and names the principal. Two certificates let the agents acknowledge on different dates or before different officers; the completed example shows acknowledgments in Volusia County and Orange County two days apart. A labeled area under each certificate is reserved for the rubber-stamp seal section 117.05 requires.

The covenant the grantors give, and the agents do not

The warranty belongs to the grantors and is measured by their own tenure. They warrant and defend title against lawful claims of persons claiming by, through, or under the grantors, or either of them, and against none other; no other covenant of title arises, and the deed states that it is not made under the section 689.02 statutory form, so the section 689.03 covenants stay off it. Section 7 identifies the instrument by which the grantors took title, where the covenant begins, and Section 8 lists the recorded matters the conveyance is subject to. Each attorney-in-fact acts only in a representative capacity and makes no personal covenant.

Exactly two grantors, each by agent

The form recites exactly two grantors, each a natural person holding title in the grantor's own name, and one attorney-in-fact and one recorded power of attorney for each. Two siblings who co-own an inherited Florida house from other states, each having given a durable power of attorney to a relative near the property, and spouses abroad who co-own a condominium and named the same adult child as agent, present the pattern this deed recites. One or two grantees may be named, with any designation of how they hold. The form is not set up as a deed by a single owner conveying through an agent, as a deed the grantors sign personally, or as a deed from a corporation, limited liability company, partnership, or trustee. It carries no joining-spouse block: where a married grantor's spouse is not a grantor and the property is that grantor's homestead, the joinder the Florida Constitution and section 709.2201(2)(b) call for is a signature the form does not carry, while two spouses who both convey join each other by conveying.

Each agent signs before two subscribing witnesses under section 689.01, with the agent's own printed name and post office address beneath the signature and each witness's printed name and post office address, recording data under section 695.26 since January 1, 2024. The first page leaves the clerk's 3 inch by 3 inch space blank, and section 201.02 documentary stamp tax is collected at recording.

The download includes the deed as a fillable PDF, a completed example worked through a Volusia County sale by two out-of-state siblings acting through their attorneys-in-fact, and a plain-language guide covering each section, the Chapter 709 authority rules, signing, and recording. The materials describe Florida law in general terms and are not legal advice.