Lady Bird Deed in Texas: What the Heir Needs to Know

What does the deed do?

A Lady Bird deed transfers the owner's remainder interest to a named heir and reserves an enhanced life estate for the owner. The grantor keeps the right to live in and use the house, and can sell, convey, lease or mortgage it without the heir's consent (Texas A&M AgriLife, read 2026-10-27). The owner has no duty to account to the heir for income from the property (Texas A&M AgriLife, read 2026-10-27).

The words: grantor signs the deed; remainderman is the heir who takes at death; life estate is the right to live in the property for life; enhanced life estate adds the power to sell without the remainderman's consent (Texas A&M AgriLife, read 2026-10-27). It is a present conveyance, not a will, governed by case law, with no official form; it can be a general warranty, special warranty or no-warranty deed (Texas A&M AgriLife, read 2026-10-27; Texas State Law Library, read 2026-10-27).

The owner can revoke the deed by filing a revocation or a new deed, or cancel it by selling or gifting the property (Texas A&M AgriLife, read 2026-10-27). The heir cannot stop a sale or take possession while the owner lives. One caution: the deed may trigger a due-on-sale or due-on-transfer clause because the remainder is granted when the deed is signed, and the State Law Library warns of a due-on-sale clause at death (Texas A&M AgriLife, read 2026-10-27; Texas State Law Library, read 2026-10-27). Check the mortgage documents first.

What does the heir get at death?

At the owner's death, title vests in the named heir without probate, and the heir generally files an affidavit of death in the county deed records (Texas A&M AgriLife, read 2026-10-27). The Tarrant County Law Library guide lists Form 2:16, Affidavit of Death for Transferring Title on Property (Transfer on Death/Lady Bird Deed) (Tarrant County Law Library, read 2026-10-27). The title company says which death certificate and affidavit it needs, and the title commitment shows any mortgage or lien that stays. An heir outside Texas can sign before a notary where the heir lives (Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code §121.001, read 2026-10-27). Probate may still be needed for other assets.

What the deed does not do

• No heir control while the owner lives. The heir owns a future interest, not a present right to possess or sell (Texas A&M AgriLife, read 2026-10-27).
• No guarantee of inheritance. The owner can revoke the deed or sell the house, which cancels the remainder (Texas A&M AgriLife, read 2026-10-27).
• No alternate beneficiary. A Lady Bird deed cannot name alternates (Texas State Law Library, read 2026-10-27).
• No transfer-on-death safe harbors. A transfer-on-death deed does not trigger a due-on-sale clause and does not affect homestead or ad valorem tax exemptions (Texas Estates Code §114.101(1), (5), read 2026-10-27); a Lady Bird deed is case law and lacks those protections (Texas A&M AgriLife, read 2026-10-27).
• No erasing of liens. The title commitment shows what stays with the house.
• No Medicaid eligibility answer. The state can look back 60 months (Texas HHS, read 2026-10-27).
• No probate avoidance for other assets. The deed covers the house only (TexasLawHelp, read 2026-10-27).

What about Medicaid and estate recovery?

Texas's Medicaid Estate Recovery Program (MERP) applies to long-term care services received after age 55, if services began after March 1, 2005; when the recipient dies, the state may file a claim against the estate (Texas HHS, read 2026-10-27).

The state says it will not ask when there is a surviving spouse, a child under 21, or a child of any age who is blind or permanently and totally disabled; when the estate is worth $15,000 or less; when Medicaid costs are $5,000 or less; when an unmarried adult child lived in the home for at least one year before the death; or when the cost of selling the property is more than it is worth (Texas HHS, read 2026-10-27).

A Lady Bird deed can protect the home because the house is not part of the probate estate. TexasLawHelp says a Lady Bird deed can protect the home from estate recovery claims (TexasLawHelp, read 2026-10-27). The State Bar of Texas says MERP cannot file against a person who does not own anything, and a deed drafted and recorded correctly before death protects the home (State Bar of Texas, read 2026-10-27). But the state can look back 60 months before the application at transfers for less than fair market value (Texas HHS, read 2026-10-27). Ask an elder-law attorney how the state will treat the deed.

What about property taxes?

The deed does not affect the owner's homestead or over-65 exemption while the owner lives in the house (Texas A&M AgriLife, read 2026-10-27). A residence homestead must be owned by one or more individuals and occupied as the individual's principal residence by an owner (Texas Tax Code §11.13(j)(1), read 2026-10-27). A remainderman who does not live there does not meet the occupancy test while the life tenant is alive.

After the owner dies, the heir's exemption depends on the heir owning and occupying the house as a principal residence (Texas Tax Code §11.13(j)(1), read 2026-10-27). If the heir rents it out or leaves it vacant, the exemption may not apply. Some practitioners warn a county may treat the recording as a change of ownership for appraisal; ask the appraisal district (W. Thompson Law, read 2026-10-27).

What about capital gains?

The property is included in the owner's estate for tax purposes and gets a stepped-up basis at death (Texas A&M AgriLife, read 2026-10-27). The basis of property acquired from a decedent is the fair market value at the date of death (26 U.S.C. §1014(a), read 2026-10-27), which reduces capital gains if the heir sells soon after. Keep a date-of-death valuation. AgriLife says the deed is not a completed gift, so naming the heir is not a taxable gift (Texas A&M AgriLife, read 2026-10-27). Gift and estate tax rules are fact-specific; ask a tax adviser.

How is it different from a transfer-on-death deed?

How do you record it in Harris County?

Execute the deed and record it in the county deed records where the property is (Texas A&M AgriLife, read 2026-10-27). In Harris County, record with the Harris County Clerk's Real Property Department, P.O. Box 1525, Houston, TX 77251-1525. The Clerk accepts originals or certified copies in person with photo ID, by mail, or through an eRecording provider; for mail it lists cashier's checks and money orders and does not accept personal, estate or trust checks (Harris County Clerk, Real Property, read 2026-10-27).

The fee is $25 for the first page and $4 for each added page, and e-recorded documents queued before 2:00 p.m. central time are processed the same business day (Harris County Clerk, read 2026-10-27). Recording matters: an unrecorded conveyance is void as to a creditor or a subsequent purchaser for valuable consideration without notice (Texas Property Code §13.001(a), read 2026-10-27), and a recorded instrument is notice to all persons (Texas Property Code §13.002, read 2026-10-27).

How HTX Sell My House fits in

If the house is in the Houston ZIP codes we work in and the family has decided to sell, there are two ways with us. We buy it: we make an offer and close once the title company can insure the sale, and no repair is needed to get a number. We take it to the builders for you: for an older house on a good lot, we bring it to the builders buying there and you take the best offer, with one contract. Either way you pay nothing to talk to us, and you see the buyer's name before you sign.

Not us, and worth comparing: a listing agent, other cash buyers, instant-offer companies, or keeping the house. If another route nets you more, we say so. An assistant answers the phone and takes the details, and Susan or Alex calls back within one business day: (346) 752-6836. Tell us about the house. For probate, read selling a house in probate in Texas; for an affidavit of heirship, read how an affidavit of heirship works in Texas; for the wider family situation, read selling an inherited house in Houston.

This page is general information, not legal advice. HTX Sell My House is not a law firm and does not prepare deeds or give tax advice.

Questions people ask