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 is a quitclaim deed, which transfers whatever ownership interest the grantor holds without making any guarantees about the title.

Deed changes involve more than paperwork. Choosing the wrong co-ownership type can expose the property to a new owner’s creditors. Adding a child to the deed rather than using a lady bird deed can cost the family tens of thousands of dollars in avoidable capital gains tax.

How to Add a Name to a Florida 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 creditor 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 individual creditors of either spouse. When one spouse dies, the surviving spouse automatically owns the entire property without probate. Adding a spouse as tenants by the entirety is one of the most common and most protective deed changes in Florida.

Florida Statute § 689.11 allows a sole owner who marries to deed the property to both spouses jointly, and the conveyance creates an estate by the entirety. This eliminates the old requirement of transferring through an intermediary third party.

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 co-ownership must be stated in the deed. If the deed does not specify, Florida law presumes a tenancy in common.

How to Remove a Name from a Florida Deed

Removing a name from a deed requires the person being removed to execute a quitclaim deed voluntarily, 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 can file a partition action under Florida Statute § 64.031, which asks the court to divide the property or order it sold with 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 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

How a deceased owner’s name is removed depends on how title was held. If the property was held as tenants by the entirety or joint tenants with right of survivorship, no new deed is required. The surviving owner records three documents: a certified death certificate (without cause of death showing), a DR-312 Affidavit of No Florida Estate Tax Due, and, if the owners were married, an Affidavit of Continuous Marriage.

The Affidavit of Continuous Marriage establishes that the marriage was intact at the time of death. A non-identification affidavit may also be needed if someone with a similar name appears in the public records with judgments or liens.

If the property was held as tenants in common, the deceased owner’s share passes through probate. The personal representative executes a deed to transfer that share to the beneficiaries or heirs.

When to Use a Quitclaim Deed vs. a Warranty Deed

A quitclaim deed 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. As of January 1, 2024, the deed must also include the post office address of each witness. 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. A deed signed by only one spouse when both signatures are required is void.

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 surcharge if more than four names appear on the document.

Tax Consequences of Changing a Deed

Adding someone to a deed in Florida can trigger documentary stamp tax at $0.70 per $100 of consideration. When no money changes hands, the consideration for tax purposes is typically the proportionate share of any mortgage encumbering the property. Transfers between spouses are exempt. Transfers to non-spouses—such as adding a child—may trigger the tax 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 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 regardless.

Adding a child 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, meaning the child will owe capital gains tax on all appreciation that occurred during the owner’s lifetime.

On a property that has appreciated $200,000, a 50% share transferred to a child carries $100,000 in built-in gains. That translates to roughly $15,000 to $25,000 in federal and state tax that a lady bird deed would have avoided entirely.

Owners whose estate plan calls for passing property to children while skipping probate are almost always better served by a lady bird deed than by adding the child now. 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.

How a Deed Change Affects Florida Homestead

Florida’s homestead exemption under Article X, Section 4 protects the owner’s primary residence from forced sale by most creditors. Adding a non-spouse co-owner to the deed does not extend the homestead exemption to the new owner’s share. If the owner adds a child to the deed, the child’s interest is not protected by the owner’s homestead exemption, and a creditor of the child could force a partition sale of the entire property.

The property tax homestead exemption under Florida Statute § 196.031 is a separate protection. Adding another person to the deed does not automatically disqualify the owner from the exemption, but it may prompt scrutiny from the county property appraiser, particularly if the new co-owner claims a homestead exemption on another property.

Florida’s Save Our Homes amendment caps annual increases in a homestead property’s assessed value at 3%. Certain deed transfers can reset the assessed value to full market value, eliminating years of accumulated savings. A property homesteaded for 15 years may have an assessed value more than $100,000 below market value, and a non-exempt transfer erases that savings entirely.

Transfers between spouses and transfers into a revocable trust where the grantor remains the beneficiary are exempt from reassessment under Florida Statute § 193.155. Transfers to a child or other non-spouse will trigger a reassessment on the transferred share.

How a Deed Change Affects the Mortgage

Changing the deed does not change the mortgage. If the owner has a mortgage and adds someone to the deed, the owner remains personally liable on the loan. The lender’s lien remains on the property regardless of who is on the deed. Removing a name from the deed does not release that person from mortgage liability either. 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 allowing the lender to accelerate the loan if the property is transferred without consent. Federal law—the Garn-St. Germain Act—exempts certain transfers from triggering the clause, including transfers to a spouse, transfers to a revocable trust, and transfers resulting from divorce. Transfers to non-spouse family members may technically trigger the clause, though lenders rarely enforce it on occupied residential property.

How Much Does It Cost to Add or Remove a Name from a Deed in Florida?

Attorney fees to prepare and record a quitclaim deed in Florida typically range from $400 to $750. Recording fees add $20 to $50. Documentary stamp tax, if applicable, depends on the proportionate mortgage amount being assumed and can range from a few dollars to several thousand.

Removing a deceased owner’s name without probate—recording the death certificate, affidavits, and tax forms—typically costs $750 to $1,200 including attorney fees and recording costs. If the property was held as tenants in common and probate is required, the cost increases substantially.