Saint Joseph County Warranty Deed with Enhanced Life Estate Form (Michigan)

All Saint Joseph County specific forms and documents listed below are included in your immediate download package:

Warranty Deed with Enhanced Life Estate Form

Saint Joseph County Warranty Deed with Enhanced Life Estate Form

Fill in the blank form formatted to comply with all recording and content requirements.
Included Saint Joseph County compliant document last validated/updated 6/19/2025

Warranty Deed with Enhanced Life Estate Guide

Saint Joseph County Warranty Deed with Enhanced Life Estate Guide

Line by line guide explaining every blank on the form.
Included Saint Joseph County compliant document last validated/updated 6/17/2025

Completed Example of the Warranty Deed with Enhanced Life Estate Document

Saint Joseph County Completed Example of the Warranty Deed with Enhanced Life Estate Document

Example of a properly completed form for reference.
Included Saint Joseph County compliant document last validated/updated 7/8/2025

When using these Warranty Deed with Enhanced Life Estate forms, the subject real estate must be physically located in Saint Joseph County. The executed documents should then be recorded in the following office:

St. Joseph County Register of Deeds

Historic Courthouse - 125 W Main St / PO Box 388, Centreville, Michigan 49032

Hours: M-F 8:00am to 5:00pm

Phone: (269) 467-5552

Local jurisdictions located in Saint Joseph County include:

  • Burr Oak
  • Centreville
  • Colon
  • Constantine
  • Leonidas
  • Mendon
  • Nottawa
  • Sturgis
  • Three Rivers
  • White Pigeon

How long does it take to get my forms?

Forms are available immediately after submitting payment.

How do I get my forms, are they emailed?

Immediately after you submit payment, the Saint Joseph County forms you order will be available for download directly from your account. You can then download the forms to your computer. If you do not already have an account, one will be created for you as part of the order process, and your login details will be provided to you. If you encounter any issues accessing your forms, please reach out to our support team for assistance. Forms are NOT emailed to you.

What does "validated/updated" mean?

This indicates the most recent date when at least one of the following occurred:

  • Updated: The document was updated or changed to remain compliant.
  • Validated: The document was examined by an attorney or staff, or it was successfully recorded in Saint Joseph County using our eRecording service.
Are these forms guaranteed to be recordable in Saint Joseph County?

Yes. Our form blanks are guaranteed to meet or exceed all formatting requirements set forth by Saint Joseph County including margin requirements, content requirements, font and font size requirements.

Can the Warranty Deed with Enhanced Life Estate forms be re-used?

Yes. You can re-use the forms for your personal use. For example, if you have more than one property in Saint Joseph County that you need to transfer you would only need to order our forms once for all of your properties in Saint Joseph County.

What are supplemental forms?

Often when a deed is recorded, additional documents are required by Michigan or Saint Joseph County. These could be tax related, informational, or even as simple as a coversheet. Supplemental forms are provided for free with your order where available.

What type of files are the forms?

All of our Saint Joseph County Warranty Deed with Enhanced Life Estate forms are PDFs. You will need to have or get Adobe Reader to use our forms. Adobe Reader is free software that most computers already have installed.

Do I need any special software to use these forms?

You will need to have Adobe Reader installed on your computer to use our forms. Adobe Reader is free software that most computers already have installed.

Do I have to enter all of my property information online?

No. The blank forms are downloaded to your computer and you fill them out there, at your convenience.

Can I save the completed form, email it to someone?

Yes, you can save your deed form at any point with your information in it. The forms can also be emailed, blank or complete, as attachments.

Are there any recurring fees involved?

No. Nothing to cancel, no memberships, no recurring fees.

A warranty deed with enhanced life estate is sometimes referred to as a ladybird deed. When correctly executed and recorded, this deed provides the structure for a non-testamentary transfer of real property. Leaving the real property out of a will allows the transfer to occur without the need for probate.

The grantor conveys the real estate back to herself, but reserves a life estate with full power to sell, mortgage, change the beneficiary, or otherwise use the property with no penalty for waste or obligation to inform the beneficiary. When the grantor dies, the property rights, if still available, transfer to the default beneficiary.

To finalize the conveyance, the beneficiary must file a property transfer affidavit within 45 days of the grantor's death. Submit the form to the assessor's office located in the same county as the real estate.

(Michigan WD with Enhanced Life Estate Package includes form, guidelines, and completed example)

Our Promise

The documents you receive here will meet, or exceed, the Saint Joseph County recording requirements for formatting. If there's an issue caused by our formatting, we'll make it right and refund your payment.

Save Time and Money

Get your Saint Joseph County Warranty Deed with Enhanced Life Estate form done right the first time with Deeds.com Uniform Conveyancing Blanks. At Deeds.com, we understand that your time and money are valuable resources, and we don't want you to face a penalty fee or rejection imposed by a county recorder for submitting nonstandard documents. We constantly review and update our forms to meet rapidly changing state and county recording requirements for roughly 3,500 counties and local jurisdictions.

4.8 out of 5 - ( 4569 Reviews )

Ronald P.

July 24th, 2025

Forms easy to download but experienced problems trying to type in my information into the forms. Then when I went to print a form, Adobe wanted to charge me for printing. I ended up printing the blank forms and then filling them out manually.

Reply from Staff

Thank you, Ronald. We're glad you found the forms easy to download, though we're sorry to hear about the printing and fill-in experience. Our forms are designed to be fillable and printable using free software like Adobe Reader. If you ever run into issues, our support team is happy to help!

Charlene H.

July 22nd, 2025

Deeds.com is a wonderful website. I highly recommend them and would use them again in the future.

Reply from Staff

Thank you, Charlene! We're so glad to hear you had a great experience. We truly appreciate your recommendation and look forward to helping you again in the future.

Kimberly B.

July 22nd, 2025

Great service, quick and easy!

Reply from Staff

We are grateful for your feedback and looking forward to serving you again. Thank you!

Monica T.

January 8th, 2025

Super easy to use. Very pleased. The turn around time was very fast. I have another one pending. Thank you!

Reply from Staff

We are grateful for your feedback and looking forward to serving you again. Thank you!

Earnest K.

January 8th, 2025

I used the "personal representative's deed." There were a few errors, after I went to record it at the county recorder's office. For #7, it should've stated "The estate of Joe Schmoe, hereby grants Mr. Personal Representative....." instead of, "I Mr. Personal Representative, as personal representative, hereby grant to personal representative...." The person at the recorder's office said you cannot state "you are granting property to yourself." Just fix that, and everything else is fine.

Reply from Staff

Your insights are invaluable to us and help us strive for better service. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts.

Samy K.

March 2nd, 2022

I searched on line for the blank forms I needed, everyone that said it's free was a part m they wanted to sign me up for a monthly membership, deeds.com had the forms that I can download and fill in, I paid $24 and got more than I needed, very easy company to deal with, I highly recommend them.

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it. Have a great day!

Christine A.

December 28th, 2018

So far do good. Don't understand the billing procedure yet and have just sent a request for information. Awaiting reply. Thank you, Christine Alvarez

Reply from Staff

Thanks for the feedback. Looks like your E-recording invoice is available. It takes a few minutes for our staff to prepare documents for recording and generate the invoice.

Kay C.

November 16th, 2020

that worked great I like to see what I'm filling out and the extra info is really helpful..

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

Kermit W.

November 5th, 2020

Straightforward instructions and very quick turnaround.

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it. Have a great day!

Charles S.

May 11th, 2025

It's useful to have forms specific to the County as well as the State. The examples are also helpful, but it would be even more helpful to see an example of a complete and successfully filed package. I will go the County Recorder's Office to see if I can find an example there.

Reply from Staff

Your insights are invaluable to us and help us strive for better service. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts.

Patricia H.

May 17th, 2022

I really like this site and it's actually recommended by many County Recorders. I especially like that there's not join up/monthly fee. It's easy to use and the customer support is outstanding. They're very helpful and patient.

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it. Have a great day!

Shawn S.

August 30th, 2019

Seems to be exactly whst j needed. Great job!

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

Roy C.

January 25th, 2021

Great Product no problems filing

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it. Have a great day!

Joey D.

July 29th, 2019

Great product delivered immediately at very reasonable price. Highly recommend !

Reply from Staff

We appreciate your business and value your feedback. Thank you. Have a wonderful day!

Kevin V.

June 29th, 2020

This is an option for recording that worked flawlessly with my county government. Given Covid19 has closed county offices to the public as well as the personal kiosks options to record shrunk dramatically. I recommend Deeds.Com for your recording needs.

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it. Have a great day!