Washington County Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Lady Bird Deed) (Community Property Grantors) Form
Last validated July 18, 2026 by our Forms Development Team
Washington 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.

Washington 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.

Washington 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.
All 3 documents above included • One-time purchase • No recurring fees
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Additional Texas and Washington County documents included at no extra charge:
Where to Record Your Documents
Washington County Clerk - Courthouse
Brenham, Texas 77833
Hours: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm
Phone: (979) 277-6200
Recording Tips for Washington County:
- Check that your notary's commission hasn't expired
- Ask if they accept credit cards - many offices are cash/check only
- Leave recording info boxes blank - the office fills these
- Ask about accepted payment methods when you call ahead
Cities and Jurisdictions in Washington County
Properties in any of these areas use Washington County forms:
- Brenham
- Burton
- Chappell Hill
- Washington
Hours, fees, requirements, and more for Washington County
How do I get my forms?
Forms are available for immediate download after payment. The Washington 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 Washington County?
Yes. Our form blanks are guaranteed to meet or exceed the applicable formatting requirements used for recording in Washington 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 Washington 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 Washington County?
Recording fees in Washington County vary. Contact the recorder's office at (979) 277-6200 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 Washington 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 Washington County.
Our Promise
The documents you receive here are guaranteed to meet or exceed the applicable Washington 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 Washington 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.
4.8 out of 5 - ( 4762 Reviews )
Janet R.
September 2nd, 2019
Thanks great site
Thank you!
Doug C.
November 20th, 2020
Great Job guys! I would not even have thought to look for this service. The county recorder's office and kiosks are all closed because of covid. I was directed to you because of a referral on the county site. I wish I had known you had forms available as well. I searched for a day to find the appropriate form.
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BRIAN M.
May 1st, 2020
Excellent Service, Fast and efficient. Thank You!
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Carol H.
October 8th, 2022
Easy to understand, quick access, inexpensive, and I took it to my registrar's office and he said the warranty deed was good to go. Thanks for saving me a bundle in lawyer's fees.
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December 21st, 2020
My experience on this website has been amazing and the process was very easy to understand and I was able to get my document filed within 3-4 hours. I plan to use this service in the future if I need to. Thank you for your excellent service!
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August 31st, 2024
The form I needed were easy to find. And very affordable. Great service.
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Wanda L.
July 30th, 2020
Really nice and helped with more information.
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Steve W.
September 9th, 2020
Perfect
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Maria G.
April 4th, 2019
Very easy and fast. Couldnt ask for anything better.
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Joseph S.
November 27th, 2023
THIS IS MY FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH DEEDS.COM. I DLED THE ESTATE DEED FORM THAT I HOPE WILL GO THROUGH OK WITH THE COUNTY. IT WILL BE SOMETIME UNTIL I HAVE IT FILLED IN AND ALL THE NAMES IN, NORARIZED AND FILED. CAN I RECONTACT YOU FOLKS IF THERE IS A PROBLEM? THANK YOU, JOE SEUBERT
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Allen P.
January 7th, 2023
Information very useful and helpful. It would be helpful to inform purchasers that legal size paper is needed to print documents. We had to run to the store and purchase some.
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Carol A.
February 6th, 2023
great
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Stephanie P.
December 9th, 2020
So far Deeds.com has done everything they say they'll do and very promptly.
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Mary K.
October 25th, 2020
Fantastic way to record any deed! Done in less than a few hours, right to your inbox. Very small fee compared to driving to office or waiting for the mail.
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John B.
December 20th, 2025
I purchased the Notice of Completion form because the City of Chula Vista did not have a "fillable" version of this form on their website. The Deeds.com version of this form is somewhat different than the City's version (8 numbered paragraphs vs. 11 numbered paragraphs.) However, it contains the same information in a different format. This form provided more blank space to fill in important items- like a long ownership name- than the version on the City's website. The recorder's office was satisfied with this form as I hand-delivered it to the Recorder's Office and they approved it for recording. Overall, I found this form easy to use and found the extra blank space for writing on the form helpful. My one comment for possible improvement is: it would be even more helpful (particularly for attorney users) to have strike-out capability. I would have liked having the ability to strike-out inapplicable portions of long awkward sentences. Still, I would use this form again.
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