Smith County Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Lady Bird Deed) (Community Property Grantors) Form

Last validated July 18, 2026 by our Forms Development Team

Smith County Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Lady Bird Deed) (Community Property Grantors) Form

Smith County Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Lady Bird Deed) (Community Property Grantors) Form

Fill in the blank Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Lady Bird Deed) (Community Property Grantors) form formatted to comply with all Texas recording and content requirements.

Document Last Validated 7/18/2026
Smith County Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Lady Bird Deed) (Community Property Grantors) Guide

Smith County Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Lady Bird Deed) (Community Property Grantors) Guide

Line by line guide explaining every blank on the Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Lady Bird Deed) (Community Property Grantors) form.

Document Last Validated 7/18/2026
Smith County Completed Example of the Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Lady Bird Deed) (Community Property Grantors) Document

Smith County Completed Example of the Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Lady Bird Deed) (Community Property Grantors) Document

Example of a properly completed Texas Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Lady Bird Deed) (Community Property Grantors) document for reference.

Document Last Validated 7/18/2026

All 3 documents above included • One-time purchase • No recurring fees

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Important: Your property must be located in Smith County to use these forms. Documents should be recorded at the office below.

Where to Record Your Documents

Smith County Clerk

Address:
200 East Ferguson St, Suite 300
Tyler, Texas 75702

Hours: 8:00am - 4:45pm M-F

Phone: (903) 590-4670

Recording Tips for Smith County:
  • Verify all names are spelled correctly before recording
  • Check that your notary's commission hasn't expired
  • Make copies of your documents before recording - keep originals safe
  • Avoid the last business day of the month when possible
  • Ask about accepted payment methods when you call ahead

Cities and Jurisdictions in Smith County

Properties in any of these areas use Smith County forms:

  • Arp
  • Bullard
  • Flint
  • Lindale
  • Troup
  • Tyler
  • Whitehouse
  • Winona

View Complete Recorder Office Guide

Hours, fees, requirements, and more for Smith County

How do I get my forms?

Forms are available for immediate download after payment. The Smith County forms will be in your account ready to download to your computer. An account is created for you during checkout if you don't have one. Forms are NOT emailed.

Are these forms guaranteed to be recordable in Smith County?

Yes. Our form blanks are guaranteed to meet or exceed the applicable formatting requirements used for recording in Smith County, including margin requirements, font requirements, and other layout standards. This guarantee applies to formatting, not to the legal sufficiency of information entered by the user or the suitability of a form for a particular transaction.

Can I reuse these forms?

Yes. You can reuse the forms for your personal use. For example, if you have multiple properties in Smith County you only need to order once.

What do I need to use these forms?

The forms are PDFs that you fill out on your computer. You'll need Adobe Reader (free software that most computers already have). You do NOT enter your property information online - you download the blank forms and complete them privately on your own computer.

Are there any recurring fees?

No. This is a one-time purchase. Nothing to cancel, no memberships, no recurring fees.

How much does it cost to record in Smith County?

Recording fees in Smith County vary. Contact the recorder's office at (903) 590-4670 for current fees.

Questions answered? Let's get started!

The Texas lady bird deed occupies an unusual place in Texas conveyancing: no statute creates it and no official form exists, yet it has been a fixture of Texas estate and elder law practice for decades, resting on common law, the general deed statutes, and settled title practice. This form prepares a lady bird deed for two married grantors who hold Texas real property as community property, the default for property acquired during a Texas marriage.

A Conveyance That Gives Up Nothing During Life

The deed works by splitting the title. The grantors convey a remainder interest to the grantees named in the deed, and in the same instrument reserve an enhanced life estate: full possession, use, rents, and income for life, plus the powers that make the life estate enhanced. The grantors keep the power to sell, mortgage, lease, or give away the property without the consent or even knowledge of any grantee, keep all proceeds, and may cancel or revoke the deed by recorded instrument. A traditional life estate deed surrenders those powers to the remainderman; the lady bird deed refuses to.

Built for Community Property and the Second Death

This version of the deed is drafted around the marriage. Both spouses sign as grantors, satisfying the homestead joinder rule of Family Code Section 5.001 on the face of the instrument, and the deed reserves the enhanced life estate to both spouses and to the survivor of them. At the first death nothing is filed or proved: the surviving spouse holds the entire life estate and every retained power alone, including the power to sell or revoke. Only at the second death does the remainder vest in possession, in the grantees who survive that death, entirely outside probate.

Why Elder Law Practice Reaches for This Deed

Texas limits Medicaid estate recovery to the probate estate, and property that passes under a recorded lady bird deed never enters it. State Bar commentary and the state Medicaid handbook both recognize the enhanced life estate deed in this role, including an exception to the transfer-penalty rules for a home conveyed this way. The grantors' retained ownership also preserves the property tax homestead exemption, and practice commentary treats the arrangement as an incomplete gift with a stepped-up basis at death. The guide describes this landscape along with the deed's real limits: no title warranty, no protection from the grantors' own creditors, and a possible due-on-sale issue under an existing mortgage.

Lady Bird Deed or Transfer on Death Deed

Texas offers a statutory cousin, the transfer on death deed under Estates Code Chapter 114, and Section 114.004 expressly preserves the common-law deed alongside it. The statutory deed transfers nothing until death and cannot be created through a power of attorney; the lady bird deed conveys a present remainder and rests on general agency law. The Texas Transfer on Death Deed products document the statutory route; this form documents the common-law one.

The download includes the blank deed as a fillable PDF, a completed example for a realistic Hays County fact pattern, and a plain-language guide covering every section, signing, and recording. The materials are informational and are not legal advice; a Texas attorney can apply these rules to a specific title or benefits situation.

Important: Your property must be located in Smith County to use these forms. Documents should be recorded at the office below.

This Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Lady Bird Deed) (Community Property Grantors) meets all recording requirements specific to Smith County.

Our Promise

The documents you receive here are guaranteed to meet or exceed the applicable Smith County recording format requirements. If there is a rejection caused by our formatting, we will correct the issue or refund your payment. This guarantee applies to document formatting only and does not extend to information entered by the user, the selection of the form, or the legal effect of the completed document.

Save Time and Money

Get your Smith County Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Lady Bird Deed) (Community Property Grantors) 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.

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November 20th, 2024

They sent me everything I would need to do this. Easy purchase -Easy download. Great!! I'll be back here for all my document needs.

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Jeffrey W.

October 20th, 2021

You should add a button to cancel a package. I uploaded a document for e-recording, but wanted to cancel because I got a more clear copy.

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November 2nd, 2020

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September 11th, 2019

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November 24th, 2020

Works easy enough and good directions on the form, however no help when I got locked out. Had to do a completely new account name and email address.

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Marolyn V.

June 4th, 2026

The booklet is too wordy. Not concise enough for someone who is inexperienced at filling out your form. It would be nice to have a picture example of what you are talking about. When we got to the Registars office we found out they do not have a notary. Would have been nice to know before we went. The form asks for page and book which is no longer needed. So why have it on there?

Reply from Staff

Thank you, Marolyn, this is useful feedback. A completed sample is actually included with the form, and your note tells us we should make it easier to find and tie it more directly to the instructions, so we'll do that. We'll also add a "before you begin" checklist and a clearer note that the document needs to be notarized in advance, since recording offices don't provide notary service. On the book and page: that reference is required by the Utah statute this affidavit is filed under (§ 57-1-5.1) and still applies to older deeds recorded before counties moved to entry-number-only indexing around 2000. You enter whichever reference appears on your recorded deed and leave the rest blank. Appreciate you taking the time to write in.

Ralph H.

May 13th, 2019

It had all the info I was looking for!

Reply from Staff

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September 28th, 2021

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March 8th, 2024

Very fast Process to get this to ROD

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December 28th, 2020

It was easy to e-record and will/would recommend it to everyone.

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April 10th, 2019

Documents are ok but I needed to reword some of the verbiage and it cannot be edited without paying a monthly or annual membership. otherwise it is a very nice site.

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January 10th, 2023

For better grammatical structure you should add the word "BE" after the first three words.... Your review may ..... BE....displayed.

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October 16th, 2020

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January 29th, 2021

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