How to Add or Remove a Name from a Deed in Florida

Adding or removing a name from a property deed in Florida requires executing a new deed and recording it with the county. The most common instrument for this purpose is a quitclaim deed, which transfers whatever ownership interest the grantor holds without making any guarantees about the title. The process is straightforward, but the legal and tax consequences of changing property ownership can be significant.

Adding a Name to a Deed

Adding someone to a deed means the current owner executes a new deed transferring an interest in the property to themselves and the new person together. The current owner is both the grantor (transferring party) and one of the grantees (receiving parties). Only the grantor signs the deed. The person being added does not need to sign.

Before drafting the deed, the owner must decide how the property will be held after the transfer. Florida recognizes several forms of co-ownership, and the choice affects both asset protection and what happens when one owner dies.

Tenancy by the entirety is available only to married couples. Property held as tenants by the entirety is protected from the creditors of either individual spouse. When one spouse dies, the surviving spouse automatically owns the entire property without probate. Adding a spouse to the deed as tenants by the entirety is one of the most common deed changes in Florida and one of the most protective.

Joint tenancy with right of survivorship allows two or more people to hold title together. When one owner dies, the surviving owners automatically receive the deceased owner’s share. Joint tenancy does not provide the creditor protection that tenancy by the entirety provides.

Tenancy in common gives each owner a separate, divisible share of the property. There is no right of survivorship. When one owner dies, that owner’s share passes through their estate (by will or intestacy) rather than automatically to the other owners.

The form of ownership must be stated in the deed. If the deed does not specify, Florida law presumes a tenancy in common.

Removing a Name from a Deed

Removing a name from a deed requires the person being removed to voluntarily execute a quitclaim deed transferring their interest to the remaining owners. Florida law does not allow one owner to unilaterally remove another owner from a deed. The person being removed must sign willingly.

If the person refuses to sign, the remaining owners have limited options. They can file a partition action under Florida Statute § 64.031, which asks the court to divide the property or order it sold with the proceeds distributed among the owners. Partition is a lawsuit, not a simple filing, and it can take months and cost thousands of dollars in attorney fees.

Common situations requiring removal of a name include divorce, the end of a non-marital relationship, and resolving ownership after a co-owner’s death. In a divorce, the marital settlement agreement or final judgment typically requires one spouse to execute a quitclaim deed transferring their interest to the other. If the deed transfer is part of a dissolution of marriage, documentary stamp tax is generally exempt under Florida Statute § 201.02(7).

Removing a deceased owner’s name depends on how title was held. If the property was held as tenants by the entirety or joint tenants with right of survivorship, the surviving owner records a death certificate with the county to establish sole ownership. No deed is required. If the property was held as tenants in common, the deceased owner’s share passes through probate, and the personal representative or successor executes a deed to transfer that share.

The Quitclaim Deed

A quitclaim deed is the standard instrument for adding or removing names in Florida. It transfers whatever interest the grantor holds, if any, without warranting that the title is clear or that the grantor actually owns what is being transferred. Because most deed changes involving family members, spouses, or co-owners involve parties who already know the ownership situation, the absence of a title warranty is not a practical concern.

A warranty deed, by contrast, includes the grantor’s guarantee that the title is clear and that the grantor will defend the grantee against any title claims. Warranty deeds are used primarily in arm’s-length sales to unrelated buyers. For adding a spouse, transferring to a trust, or resolving a co-ownership situation, a quitclaim deed is appropriate.

Florida Statute § 689.025 prescribes a statutory form for quitclaim deeds. The deed must include the grantor’s full legal name as it appears on the current title, the grantee’s full legal name, the legal description of the property, and the parcel identification number. The deed must be signed by the grantor in the presence of two witnesses, and the grantor’s signature must be notarized. The grantee does not sign.

If the property is homestead and the grantor is married, both spouses must sign the deed regardless of whose name is on the title. This spousal joinder requirement comes from Article X, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution and applies to all conveyances of homestead property.

After execution, the deed must be recorded in the official records of the county where the property is located. Recording fees are typically $10 for the first page and $8.50 for each additional page, plus a small per-name surcharge if more than four names appear on the document.

Tax and Financial Consequences

Adding someone to a deed can trigger documentary stamp tax. Florida imposes the tax at $0.70 per $100 of consideration on all transfers of real property. When no money changes hands, the consideration for tax purposes is typically the amount of any mortgage encumbering the property. If the property has a $300,000 mortgage and the owner adds a spouse, the transfer to the spouse is exempt from documentary stamp tax. If the owner adds a non-spouse (such as a child), documentary stamp tax may apply based on the child’s proportionate share of the mortgage.

Adding a non-spouse to the deed may also constitute a taxable gift for federal gift tax purposes. If the owner adds a child as a 50% co-owner on a property worth $400,000, the owner has made a $200,000 gift. The owner must file a gift tax return (Form 709) and apply the transfer against their lifetime gift and estate tax exemption. No gift tax is typically owed unless the owner has exhausted the exemption, but the reporting obligation exists.

Adding a child or other non-spouse to the deed eliminates the stepped-up basis on the transferred share. If the owner later dies, only the owner’s retained share receives a stepped-up basis under IRC § 1014. The child’s share retains the owner’s original cost basis (carryover basis), which means the child will owe capital gains tax on the appreciation that occurred during the owner’s lifetime when the property is eventually sold.

For owners whose primary estate planning goal is passing property to children at death without probate, a lady bird deed is almost always a better option than adding the child to the deed. A lady bird deed avoids probate, preserves the full stepped-up basis, triggers no gift tax, and allows the owner to retain complete control. Adding a child to the deed creates an immediate co-ownership that cannot be undone without the child’s consent, exposes the property to the child’s creditors, and produces worse tax results.

Effect on Homestead

Adding a non-spouse to a homestead deed can affect the property’s homestead exemption and creditor protection. Florida’s homestead exemption from creditors under Article X, Section 4 protects the owner’s interest in their primary residence. If the owner adds a child to the deed, the child’s interest is not protected by the owner’s homestead exemption. A creditor of the child could force a partition sale.

The property tax homestead exemption under Florida Statute § 196.031 requires the owner to reside on the property as their permanent residence. Adding another person to the deed does not automatically disqualify the owner from the exemption, but it may complicate matters if the county property appraiser questions whether the exemption still applies to the full property.

Effect on Mortgage

Changing the deed does not affect the mortgage. If the owner has a mortgage and adds someone to the deed, the owner remains personally liable on the loan. The mortgage lender’s lien remains on the property regardless of who is on the deed. Similarly, removing a name from the deed does not release that person from mortgage liability. The only way to remove someone from a mortgage obligation is to refinance the loan or obtain a formal release from the lender.

Most residential mortgages contain a due-on-sale clause that allows the lender to accelerate the loan if the property is transferred without the lender’s consent. Federal law (the Garn-St. Germain Act) exempts certain transfers from triggering the due-on-sale clause, including transfers to a spouse, transfers to a revocable trust, and transfers resulting from divorce. Transfers to non-spouse family members such as children may trigger the clause, though lenders rarely enforce it on occupied residential property.

Cost

Attorney fees for preparing and recording a quitclaim deed in Florida typically range from $400 to $750. County recording fees add approximately $20 to $50. Documentary stamp tax, if applicable, is calculated based on the consideration involved in the transfer and can range from the $0.70 minimum to several thousand dollars on properties with large mortgages.