Who has to sign when a Miami home is sold under a Lady Bird deed?
While the owner is alive, the owner signs alone, joined by a spouse if the home is homestead. A Lady Bird deed keeps the power to sell with the owner, with no beneficiary consent needed. After the owner dies, the home passes outside probate and every named beneficiary generally has to sign. Read the recorded deed first, because a plain life estate gives no power to sell without the beneficiaries.
By Lynley Ciorobea | November 3, 2026
The most expensive thing in a Florida deed is language that isn't there.
In June 2025, Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeal decided a case out of Palm Beach County that shows why. A widow and her husband had deeded themselves a life estate in their homestead, with the remainder going to family members. The deed said nothing about a power to sell. After her husband died, she signed a contract to sell anyway. A beneficiary recorded a lis pendens, the sale got tied up, and the court ended up sending $281,435.35 in undistributed proceeds to the trust holding the remainder, not to her. A life tenant can't sell more than she owns.
A Lady Bird deed is built to avoid exactly that. It's an enhanced life estate. The owner keeps the right to sell, mortgage, lease, or revoke without asking the beneficiaries, and the house passes to them outside probate when the owner dies. A plain life estate has none of that. The two can look nearly identical in a sentence and behave nothing alike at a closing table.
So before anyone talks about price, pull the recorded deed from the Miami-Dade Clerk's official records and read the granting language. You're looking for words that reserve the power to sell without the joinder of the remaindermen. If those words are missing, stop. Call a closing attorney before you sign a listing agreement.
Who signs depends on whether the owner is alive
If the owner is alive, the owner signs alone. The beneficiaries' signatures aren't needed and their consent isn't required. If the owner is married and the house is homestead, Florida generally requires the spouse to join the deed, so confirm that with your closing attorney early. The part that surprises families: once the house sells, the deed does its last job and disappears. Beneficiaries inherit whatever the owner still has at death. If that's cash, it passes under the owner's other documents, not the Lady Bird deed.
If the owner has died, the house goes to the named beneficiaries without a probate case for the real estate. Someone records a certified death certificate in the Miami-Dade official records, and the title agent will want to see the recorded deed, that death certificate, and signatures from every beneficiary named. Every one. A beneficiary who has died, can't be found, or is a minor turns a three-week closing into a three-month one.
Two things can complicate this. If the owner left a surviving spouse or minor child, Florida's homestead protections can change who actually has rights in the house, and that needs an attorney's read before anything is recorded or listed. And if the beneficiaries don't agree on selling, nobody can simply overrule the others.
Money mostly works like any other sale. Doc stamps on the deed are customarily paid by the seller, at 0.6% on a single-family home in Miami-Dade, which is $12,000 on a $2 million sale. Heirs split that along with everything else, so decide up front how proceeds will be divided. The mortgage and any liens travel with the house. On the tax side, beneficiaries typically receive a basis stepped up to the value on the date of death, so a prompt sale often produces little taxable gain. Order a date-of-death appraisal and keep it with your records. Your CPA should confirm.
Time is the cost people underestimate. A house in Pinecrest or Coral Gables carries property taxes, insurance, and upkeep every month, and a homeowner's policy written for the person who died may not cover a vacant house. The family that waits six months to sort out signatures has paid for that wait in real dollars.
This is a different path from a trust sale and from selling an inherited home through probate. If the owner is alive but can't act, read about selling under a power of attorney instead.
If the home is in Coral Gables or Pinecrest, send me the recorded deed before you send me anything else. I'll have the closing attorney read it before we pick a list price.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Lady Bird deed owner sell the house without the beneficiaries?
Yes, if the deed is a true Lady Bird deed that reserves the power to sell. The beneficiaries have no right to approve or block the sale, and their interest ends when the house sells. A plain life estate is different and generally needs the remaindermen to join.
Do I need probate to sell a house after the Lady Bird deed owner dies?
Usually not for the house itself. It passes to the named beneficiaries outside probate once a certified death certificate is recorded in the county records. Other assets may still need probate, and a surviving spouse or minor child can complicate homestead property, so check with a Florida attorney.
Do all the beneficiaries have to agree to sell after the owner's death?
Every beneficiary named in the deed generally has to sign the sale documents. If one refuses, the others can't force the sale, and a legal partition may be the only route. A missing, deceased, or minor beneficiary adds time.
What tax basis do beneficiaries get on a Lady Bird deed home?
Beneficiaries typically receive a basis stepped up to the home's value on the date of death, so a prompt sale often produces little taxable gain. Order a date-of-death appraisal and have your CPA confirm.
About Lynley Ciorobea
Lynley Ciorobea is a Miami-born real estate professional known for helping homeowners successfully prepare, position, and sell their homes across Coral Gables, South Miami, Pinecrest, Palmetto Bay, and the surrounding southern Miami neighborhoods. Since 2007, she has built her business around thoughtful strategy, strong negotiation, and a marketing-first approach designed to help listings stand out in an ever-evolving market. A true local, Lynley grew up in Pinecrest and graduated from Palmer Trinity School before attending Duke University, where she earned a BA in Psychology. As the founder of the Lynley Residential Group, Lynley remains personally involved in every listing she represents. With more than $250 million in career transactions and more than 70 5-star Google reviews, she brings a local perspective that goes far beyond surface-level market knowledge.
If you are thinking through a pre-sale exterior plan for your own house, I am happy to walk you through the order of operations. Reach out anytime at lynleyresidential.com.