Texas Forms

Smith County Enhanced Life Estate Deed Form

Smith County Enhanced Life Estate Form

Smith County Enhanced Life Estate Form

Fill in the blank form formatted to comply with all recording and content requirements.

Document Last Validated 7/23/2025
Smith County Enhanced Life Estate Guide

Smith County Enhanced Life Estate Guide

Line by line guide explaining every blank on the form.

Document Last Validated 5/28/2025
Smith County Completed Example of the Enhanced Life Estate Document

Smith County Completed Example of the Enhanced Life Estate Document

Example of a properly completed form for reference.

Document Last Validated 6/3/2025

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

Immediate Download • Secure Checkout

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:
  • White-out or correction fluid may cause rejection
  • Recording fees may differ from what's posted online - verify current rates
  • Multi-page documents may require additional fees per page

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 all formatting requirements set forth by Smith County including margin requirements, content requirements, font and font size requirements.

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!

A Lady Bird deed, also called an enhanced life estate deed or reservation of a life estate with a general power of appointment, is a useful estate planning tool. When executed, the grantor conveys a life estate in real property to himself, with the remainder conveyed to the beneficiary of his choice, thereby avoiding the probate process. This type of deed enables the grantor to preserve homestead status (if claimed) as well as any deductions, protections, and tax exemptions associated with the real estate during his lifetime. In addition, he retains absolute control over the property, allowing for the option to change the beneficiary or even sell, convey, or mortgage the property before the transfer of ownership goes into effect upon the grantor's death.

(Texas Enhanced Life Estate Package includes form, guidelines, and completed example)

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 meets all recording requirements specific to Smith County.

Our Promise

The documents you receive here will meet, or exceed, the Smith 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 Smith County Enhanced Life Estate Deed 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 - ( 4585 Reviews )

Lisa P.

October 23rd, 2020

Your forms are worth the investment. The guide and example were very helpful and thorough.

Reply from Staff

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

Rebecca H.

May 22nd, 2021

I thought the forms were reasonably priced, the instructions included in the packet were thorough, and the examples helpful. Thank you for the additional CDR forms too. I contacted the Recorder's office via email with a question and Jennifer Bowser answered promptly. Job well done! However, when I delivered the deed and Real Property Transfer Declaration to the Clerk's office in Lafayette, the clerk was unfamiliar with the Declaration document being submitted and it took some time to convince her to submit the form without charging the recording fee. She even tried to phone the recorder's office for clarification, but no one answered. There then was an additional form at that office that I had to complete called Recording Request/Transmittal Form. I would suggest including that form with instructions in your on-line packet to speed up the process when a Deed is delivered to the County Clerk's satellite office. I do not expect every clerk to know all the particulars of recording requirements but a little knowledge wouldn't hurt.

Reply from Staff

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

Donna R.

November 17th, 2021

This was a seamless process. It probably took one minute to fill out my information and upload the document. It was formatted and sent immediately. It was processed the next day at the county recorders office. I have zero complaints. Before finding this company I spent an entire day calling and leaving messages at other e-filing companies like simplfile and others but they all required subscriptions. I just needed to file a single document now and then so that was not a good fit. (And those companies I found out still require the customer to do all the work!). Deeds.com kept me informed throughout the process every step. I'm happy to write this review. Thank you

Reply from Staff

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

Annette A.

March 21st, 2019

I requested a property report and it was completed fast and accurately. I would highly recommend this service.

Reply from Staff

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

sonja E.

May 31st, 2019

It's very easy to find your way around on deeds.com, Excellent layout on this website and user friendly!

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

Natalie F.

April 13th, 2020

So convenient and easy to use! Will definitely recommend to anyone.

Reply from Staff

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

Judith D.

November 25th, 2022

If my availability does not coincide with your business hours it should not prevent me from uploading my documents and making payment. You should allow people to upload their documents at any time with the understanding that you will process them on your next business day.

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

randall a.

July 16th, 2019

As advertised. good value.

Reply from Staff

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

Leo H.

May 26th, 2021

The deed was very easy to use and the material provided were helpful in completing the form. We haven't filed it yet, but I assume that all will go well.

Reply from Staff

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

Larry A.

December 17th, 2021

Provided exactly the form I was looking for at a reasonable price. Easy to do as well.

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

Patricia S.

August 3rd, 2022

The forms was easy to use and the guides was helpful

Reply from Staff

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

Ron D.

January 14th, 2019

No choice since the county does not seem to provide info you supplied.

Reply from Staff

Thank Ron, have a great day!

Lawrence R.

February 4th, 2020

Forms do not allow enough space for fields and cutoff. Need to expand the fields to allow for more writing. I ended up re-typing to be able to include full property description. Would be nice if available in Word format rather than only PDF format.

Reply from Staff

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

George S.

June 24th, 2020

Very good, very expensive. I hope that this is what my lawyer needed for us to finish our wills. George

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

Richard W.

June 23rd, 2022

My experience so far is quite good. Useful documents. It would be very helpful if the labels on the files downloaded were in text format, like "Jurat" rather than "1429107022SF21141." It would save me the extra step of providing proper file names.

Reply from Staff

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