Should You Put Your House in a Trust in Florida? Pros, Cons and Homestead Rules

For most Florida families, the house is the biggest thing they own. It is also the asset most likely to get stuck in probate court after a death. That is why one of the most common questions estate planning attorneys hear is simple: should I put my home in a trust?

The answer depends on your family, your mortgage, and how Florida’s homestead laws apply to you. This guide explains in plain language what putting a house in a trust actually means, the real benefits and drawbacks, how Florida homestead rules affect the decision, whether you can put a mortgaged house in a trust, and exactly how to put a house in a trust in Florida.

What Does Putting a House in a Trust Mean?

Putting a house in a trust means signing and recording a new deed that transfers ownership from you to yourself as trustee of your trust. For example, the deed might change from “Maria Lopez” to “Maria Lopez, as Trustee of the Maria Lopez Revocable Trust dated March 1, 2026.”

Day to day, nothing changes. You still live in the home, pay the mortgage and taxes, and can sell, refinance, or rent it whenever you want. The difference shows up later. If you become incapacitated, your successor trustee can step in and manage the house without a court guardianship. When you die, your successor trustee can transfer or sell the house according to your instructions, without probate.

Most Florida homeowners use a revocable living trust for this, meaning a trust you can change or cancel at any time. A Florida trust attorney can set one up to fit your family, and the guide on how a revocable living trust works in Florida explains the moving parts in more detail.

Benefits of Putting a House in a Trust

Your Family Avoids Probate on the Home

Putting your house in a trust to avoid probate is the number one reason Florida families do it. A home titled in your name alone at death must go through probate before your family can sell it or transfer it. Florida formal probate commonly takes 6 to 18 months, and attorney fees under Florida’s fee guideline run roughly 3% of the estate’s value. On a $450,000 home, that can mean about $13,500 in attorney fees alone. The full timeline is laid out in how long probate takes in Miami.

Someone You Trust Can Manage the Home If You Cannot

If you suffer a stroke or develop dementia, your successor trustee can pay the property taxes, handle insurance, make repairs, or sell the house to pay for care, all without asking a judge. Choosing the right person matters, and the guide on how to choose a successor trustee in Florida explains what to look for.

Privacy

Probate files are public. A trust is not. When the house passes through a trust, the details of who receives it and on what terms stay within the family.

More Control Over Who Receives the House and When

A trust can let a surviving spouse live in the home for life and then pass it to your children, hold the house for young children until they are older, or direct that it be sold and the money divided. This kind of control is especially useful in blended families.

No Second Probate for Out of State Property

If you also own a home in another state, a trust that holds both properties avoids a separate probate case in each state.

Drawbacks of Putting Your Home in a Trust

• Up front cost. A trust based plan costs more than a simple will. At The Schoonover Law Firm, a full plan with the deed work typically runs $3,500 to $8,000 as a flat fee.
• Paperwork. A new deed must be prepared, signed with two witnesses and a notary, and recorded with the county.
• Refinancing can take an extra step. Some lenders ask you to move the house out of the trust before a refinance and back in afterward.
• No creditor protection from the trust itself. A revocable trust does not shield your assets from your own creditors. Florida’s homestead protection does that, and the trust must be drafted so it does not interfere.
• No tax savings by itself. A revocable trust does not reduce income tax or estate tax on its own.
• It must be kept current. If you sell and buy a new home, the new home must also be titled in the trust.

Florida Homestead Rules When You Put a House in a Trust

Florida homestead law is unusual, and it is the main reason a house trust in Florida should be set up by someone who knows these rules. Homestead affects three different things: property taxes, creditor protection, and who can inherit the home.

Your Homestead Exemption and Save Our Homes Cap

Florida law allows you to keep your homestead property tax exemption when your home is held in a revocable trust that gives you the right to live there. The Save Our Homes cap, which limits how much your assessed value can rise each year, also stays in place because moving the house into your own revocable trust is not treated as a change of ownership. The deed and trust should be drafted with this in mind, and it is wise to confirm with the Property Appraiser after recording.

Creditor Protection

Florida’s constitution protects a primary residence from most creditors. Florida courts have generally held that this protection continues when the home is held in a properly drafted revocable trust. Married couples should also know that Florida law now allows property owned as tenants by the entirety to keep that protection inside a qualifying trust, but only if the trust is drafted correctly.

Restrictions on Who Can Inherit Your Homestead

This is the rule that surprises most people. If you are survived by a spouse or a minor child, Florida law limits how your homestead can pass. You generally cannot leave it away from your spouse or minor child, and that limit applies to trusts just as it applies to wills. If your trust tries to leave the house to someone else, a court can override it. A spouse can sign a written waiver, often in a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement, and the spouse usually must also sign the deed when a married homeowner moves homestead property into a trust. These rules are one of the main reasons a Florida estate planning attorney should prepare both the trust and the deed.

Can You Put a Mortgaged House in a Trust?

Yes. You can put a mortgaged house in a trust in Florida, and you do not need to pay off the loan first. The mortgage stays in place, and you keep making the same payments.

Many homeowners worry about the “due on sale” clause in their mortgage, which lets a lender demand full payment if the home is transferred. A federal law, the Garn-St. Germain Act, generally prohibits lenders from enforcing that clause when you move your home into a revocable trust where you remain a beneficiary and keep living in the house. It is still good practice to notify your lender and your homeowners insurance company so the trust is listed correctly on the policy.

Florida documentary stamp tax is usually minimal on this kind of deed, but it can apply in some situations involving mortgaged property, so your attorney should confirm the amount before the deed is recorded.

How to Put a House in a Trust in Florida

Here is how to put a house in a trust in Florida, step by step:

1. Create your revocable living trust. The trust must be signed with the same formalities as a Florida will, including two witnesses, and naming yourself as trustee and a successor trustee.
2. Get a copy of your current deed. You need the exact legal description and parcel number. In Miami-Dade, these are available through the Clerk of Court and the Property Appraiser.
3. Prepare the new deed. The deed transfers the home from you to yourself as trustee of your trust. It should include the trustee powers Florida law expects so title companies can rely on it later.
4. Have your spouse join if required. If the home is homestead and you are married, your spouse usually must sign the deed.
5. Sign in front of two witnesses and a notary. Florida deeds require two witnesses in addition to the notary.
6. Record the deed with the Clerk of Court in the county where the home is located and pay any recording fees and documentary stamp tax.
7. Confirm your homestead exemption with the Property Appraiser.
8. Notify your insurance company and lender. Ask your insurer to list the trust as an additional insured.
9. Keep the recorded deed with your trust. Your successor trustee will need both.

The home is usually the most important asset to move, but it is not the only one. The checklist in how to fund a revocable living trust in Florida covers bank accounts, investments, and other property, and the most common mistake is forgetting this step entirely.

Putting a House in a Trust vs. a Lady Bird Deed

For some homeowners, a Lady Bird deed is a simpler and less expensive way to keep the house out of probate. It lets you keep full control during your life and passes the home to the people you name at death, without a trust.

A Lady Bird deed is often the better choice if your main goal is to pass the home simply and you may need Medicaid for long term care someday. The details are covered in Lady Bird deed tax implications and Medicaid estate recovery in Florida.

Should I Put My House in a Trust in Florida?

Putting your home in a trust usually makes sense if you:

• Want your family to avoid probate on the house and on your other assets.
• Want someone you trust to manage the home if you become ill.
• Have minor children, young adult children, or a blended family.
• Own property in more than one state.
• Want your plan to stay private.

It may be less necessary if your estate is simple, you are mainly concerned with Medicaid eligibility, or a Lady Bird deed already accomplishes what you need. A will on its own will not keep the house out of probate, and the comparison in will vs. trust in Florida explains why. The guide on how to avoid probate in Florida lays out the full range of options.

What Happens to a House in a Trust When You Die?

When you die, your successor trustee takes over. They secure the home, keep it insured, pay the mortgage and taxes, and then either transfer it to your beneficiaries with a trustee’s deed or sell it and distribute the money, depending on your instructions. No court filing is needed to open an estate. The full process is explained in what happens to a trust when you die in Florida.

If the house was never moved into the trust, it usually must go through Florida probate first, even though a pour-over will sends it to the trust in the end. That delay is exactly what putting the house in the trust is meant to prevent.

Frequently Asked Questions