Does Florida Have a Transfer on Death Deed? What Passes Outside Probate Instead

By Rozsa Gyene, California estate planning attorney, State Bar of California #208356. Published September 28, 2026. Last reviewed September 28, 2026.

This guide explains what the Florida Statutes do provide, what they do not, and how the alternatives work. Every rule is cited to its section. Nothing here is advice about a particular Florida property.

What we looked for and did not find

Some states have adopted a real property transfer on death act that lets an owner record a revocable deed naming who takes the property at death. Florida's chapter 689 on conveyances of land, its probate code in chapters 732 through 735, and its trust code in chapter 736 were reviewed on September 28, 2026 on the Florida Legislature's site, and no section authorizing a transfer on death deed for real property was found. This guide therefore does not describe one. If the Legislature enacts one, the Last reviewed date above will change.

Survivorship must be written into the deed

Section 689.15 is the rule most Florida co-owners run into. The doctrine of survivorship does not prevail in Florida: a conveyance to two or more people creates a tenancy in common, meaning each owner's share passes through that owner's estate at death, unless the instrument expressly provides for the right of survivorship. The one exception is an estate by the entirety between spouses, which carries survivorship on its own and becomes a tenancy in common if the marriage is dissolved. In practice, whether a Florida home avoids probate on the first owner's death depends on the words of the deed.

Accounts that pass by designation

Two kinds of financial assets pass at death to a named person without probate. Deposit accounts, meaning checking, savings, certificates of deposit and share accounts, may carry a pay on death designation naming a beneficiary who receives the funds after the death of all parties (section 655.82). Securities and brokerage accounts may be registered in beneficiary form, which shows the present owner and the person who becomes owner at the owner's death (section 711.501); a transfer that results from that registration is effective by contract and is not testamentary (section 711.509). These designations do not reach a house.

The living trust

A revocable living trust holds title to the home during the owner's life, so at death the home is trust property rather than probate property. Under section 736.0602, unless the trust expressly provides that it is irrevocable, the settlor may revoke or amend it at any time, and on revocation the trustee delivers the property back as the settlor directs. Moving the home into the trust means recording a deed to the trustee with the clerk of the circuit court in the county where the home is; the Miami page describes the Miami-Dade recorder's requirements and fee.

The homestead limit applies to every method

Section 732.4015 restates the constitutional rule: a Florida homestead may not be devised if the owner is survived by a spouse or a minor child, except that it may be devised to the spouse when there is no minor child, and the section applies to a homestead held in a revocable trust as if the grantor owned it. A trust or a deed cannot be used to leave the family home away from a spouse or minor child. The Florida spouse's rights guide explains the surviving spouse's life estate and the one half election.

If nothing was done

A home titled in the owner's sole name with no survivorship language passes through probate. For an estate worth $150,000 or less after exempt property, or where the owner died more than 2 years ago, summary administration under section 735.201 (as amended by Chapter 2026-57, effective July 1, 2026) is the shorter route; otherwise formal administration applies. Both are described in the Florida probate process guide.