Matagorda County Enhanced Life Estate (Lady Bird) Deed (Joint Owners with Right of Survivorship) Form
Last validated September 9, 2026 by our Forms Development TeamFormatted for recording in Matagorda County, for property anywhere in the county: rural and unincorporated areas as well as Bay City, Blessing, Cedar Lane, Collegeport, Elmaton, Markham, Matagorda, Midfield and 4 more.
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Matagorda County Enhanced Life Estate (Lady Bird) Deed (Joint Owners with Right of Survivorship) Form
Fill in the blank Enhanced Life Estate (Lady Bird) Deed (Joint Owners with Right of Survivorship) form formatted to comply with all Texas recording and content requirements.

Matagorda County Enhanced Life Estate (Lady Bird) Deed (Joint Owners with Right of Survivorship) Guide
Line by line guide explaining every blank on the Enhanced Life Estate (Lady Bird) Deed (Joint Owners with Right of Survivorship) form.

Matagorda County Completed Example of the Enhanced Life Estate (Lady Bird) Deed (Joint Owners with Right of Survivorship) Document
Example of a properly completed Texas Enhanced Life Estate (Lady Bird) Deed (Joint Owners with Right of Survivorship) document for reference.
All 3 documents above included • One-time purchase • No recurring fees
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Additional Texas and Matagorda County documents included at no extra charge:
Where to Record Your Documents
Matagorda County
Bay City, Texas 77414-5094
Hours: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm
Phone: (979)244-7680
Recording Tips for Matagorda County:
- Bring your driver's license or state-issued photo ID
- Ensure all signatures are in blue or black ink
- Recorded documents become public record - avoid including SSNs
- Recording fees may differ from what's posted online - verify current rates
- Request a receipt showing your recording numbers
Cities and Jurisdictions in Matagorda County
Properties in any of these areas use Matagorda County forms:
- Bay City
- Blessing
- Cedar Lane
- Collegeport
- Elmaton
- Markham
- Matagorda
- Midfield
- Palacios
- Pledger
- Van Vleck
- Wadsworth
Hours, fees, requirements, and more for Matagorda County
How do I get my forms?
Forms are available for immediate download after payment. The Matagorda 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 Matagorda County?
Yes. Our form blanks are guaranteed to meet or exceed the applicable formatting requirements used for recording in Matagorda 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 Matagorda 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. The free Adobe Acrobat Reader is recommended, and most PDF apps also work. 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 Matagorda County?
Recording fees in Matagorda County vary. Contact the recorder's office at (979)244-7680 for current fees.
Questions answered? Let's get started!
The enhanced life estate deed, better known in Texas as the lady bird deed, performs a trick no ordinary deed manages: it conveys the property today and still leaves the people who signed it free to sell, mortgage, lease, or give away that same property tomorrow, without asking anyone named in the deed. This version of the instrument is drafted for two co-owners who hold Texas real property as joint owners with right of survivorship, and it carries their plan across two deaths: the entire enhanced life estate belongs to the survivor after the first death, and the named remainderman takes only when the last owner dies.
A conveyance that keeps every power that matters
The deed grants, sells, and conveys the property to the grantee as remainderman, then reserves to the grantors, and to the survivor of them, an enhanced life estate: exclusive possession and income for life, together with the power to sell, convey, mortgage, lease, or otherwise dispose of the property, with no joinder, consent, or notice from the grantee, and all proceeds kept. If the owners dispose of the entire property during life, the remainder is divested and the deed transfers nothing at the second death. The conveyance is made without warranty of title and expressly excludes the covenants that Texas Property Code Section 5.023 would otherwise imply from words of grant, the drafting pattern that separates a no-warranty conveyance from a quitclaim.
Two owners, one survivorship, one remainder
The form recites title held under a written survivorship agreement made under Texas Estates Code Section 111.001, the arrangement common among unmarried pairs: siblings, partners, a parent and an adult child. While both grantors live, the reserved powers operate jointly; after the first death, the surviving grantor holds the entire life estate and every power alone. Spouses holding community property fall under a different regime, since community property survivorship arises under Estates Code Chapter 112 rather than Section 111.001, and different instruments recite that vesting.
No enabling statute, and what that means
Unlike the transfer on death deed, which the legislature codified in Estates Code Chapter 114 in 2015, the lady bird deed rests on Texas common law and long title practice. Chapter 114 itself steps aside: its nonexclusivity provision preserves every other lawful method of transferring real property. The absence of a statute cuts both ways, and the guide describes both edges: no statutory form or formality constrains the deed, and no Texas appellate decision has construed one, so title companies review these deeds case by case.
Probate, Medicaid recovery, and the recording counter
Property that passes under a lady bird deed passes outside probate, and the Texas Medicaid Estate Recovery Program presents its claim only against the probate estate under the state's administrative rules, which is the reason this deed appears so often in long-term-care planning. The completed deed is recorded with the county clerk of the county where the property is located; the first page carries the confidentiality notice Property Code Section 11.008 requires, and, effective December 4, 2025, a person presenting a document for recording in person shows photo identification at the counter.
The download includes the blank deed as a fillable PDF, with conditional joining-spouse signature blocks for the homestead situations Family Code Section 5.001 reaches, a completed example built on a realistic Williamson County fact pattern, and a plain-language guide that walks through every numbered section, the signing and notarization details, and the recording steps. The materials are informational and are not legal advice.
Important: Your property must be located in Matagorda County to use these forms. Documents should be recorded at the county recording office listed above.
This Enhanced Life Estate (Lady Bird) Deed (Joint Owners with Right of Survivorship) meets all recording requirements specific to Matagorda County.
Our Promise
The documents you receive here are guaranteed to meet or exceed the applicable Matagorda 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 Matagorda County Enhanced Life Estate (Lady Bird) Deed (Joint Owners with Right of Survivorship) 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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Thank you, Pat. We’re glad the documents were as described and easy to access. Just to clarify — Johnson County doesn’t provide a Transfer on Death Deed form. We make the correct, recordable version available, and any required supplemental forms are free on our site, with or without purchase.
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