Lady Bird Deed - Everything You Ever Wanted to Know

It is generally believed that the first ladybird deed was used by President Lyndon Johnson to transfer property to his wife, “Lady Bird” Johnson, upon his death.

In a basic ladybird transfer, the grantor retains a life estate and the power to subsequently convey the fee. This power is generally expanded to include the power to gift, mortgage, lease, or otherwise dispose of the property.

The ladybird deed has become a useful tool in estate planning and probate avoidance. Ladybird transfers are approved by the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services. Because the grantor still has an unrestricted interest in the property, the transfer is not a divestment. Also, if the property is the homestead, it remains a noncountable asset.

Darren Findling of The Probate Pro provides a step by step explanation of the use of a Lady Bird Deed.

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Legal Disclaimer:
The Probate Pro, PLC, a division of The Darren Findling Law Firm, PLC, has a licensed lawyer(s) in the state of Illinois. The presenter, Darren Findling is licensed as an attorney only in Michigan and is not a licensed lawyer in Illinois.

This video is for educational purposes only and is not to be considered legal advice. The Probate Pro, PLC, QuietTitle.com and any other entities of The Darren Findling Law Firm, PLC do not claim to be an “expert” or “specialist” in their legal practice areas.

A Lady Bird Deed is a widely recognized effective estate planning deed it's recognized under Michigan common law as well as under the Michigan land title standards which are a group of standards that the title industry puts together so that the title industry can uh have standards relating to how they view and underwrite particular deeds and under standard 9.3 under the current sixth edition there this is a life estate as i mentioned with a power to convey fee is the ownership interest it's a legal term and it says the holder of a life estate coupled with an absolute power to dispose of the fee the real estate by inter vivos interesting life estate term conveyance can convey a fee simple interest during the lifetime of the holder if the power is not exercised the gift over becomes effective that's the land title standard now let's go step by step by understanding the deed itself the lady bird deed is really an interesting document because in a traditional conveyance you're used to seeing a grantor convey to a grantee person a to person b but notice here that the grantor is john doe in this example and they're quit claiming to the grantee john doe person a to person a so what makes this an enhanced life estate it's this magic language it talks about their rights under their lifetime it says that it's intended to conform to the Michigan land title standard that we just referenced and that at death it's going to go to the beneficiary in this case jane smith but remember they can still convey out so john doe could convey out during john doe's lifetime and prevent jane smith from ever receiving the real estate as we work further down this document it identifies like any other deed the city the county the legal description the tax identification number as well as the commonly known address in this case i have the language that talks about the consideration also included here it talks about the exemption because it is within as we talked about for uncapping purposes now again I’m using this for illustration purposes you have to consult with an experienced attorney to make sure that they guide you through this document I don't want anyone to simply look at this document and assume you can just copy the language below is the signature line and under Michigan law the notarization that is required in addition it talks about who's drafting it and where to return it after it's recorded as well as where subsequent tax bills should go this is what a ladybird deed is so what do you do how do you get one how do you create one at the probate pro we're passionate about educating people about estate planning ladybird deeds probate related issues if you have questions about a ladybird deed if you'd like an example more information about it if you'd like us to draft you one visit us at theprobatepro.com or call us at 1-833-probate