What is a Lady Bird Deed?

A lady bird deed is a type of deed that conveys an interest in real estate in real property. It’s sometimes also known as an enhanced life estate. What the lady bird deed does is it vests a life interest in the property within one individual, typically, and upon that individual’s passing, there’s a remainder portion that will go to one or multiple beneficiaries.

The lady bird deed works very well in cases where we have a single client who has a relatively simple distribution pattern. One of the biggest advantages to the use of a lady bird deed is the ability to avoid probate upon the death of the person who has the life estate interest.