DEAD MEN SELL NO SALES
- Julie Settle
- Feb 15
- 1 min read
A deed is the written version of an exchange of a clod of earth from the old English laws of real estate sales, according to my brother, attorney Rusty Collins. In Florida, a deed is valid with: Conveyance, a Buyer and Seller, Consideration, and a Property Description. But it can’t be recorded without a Notary. The Conveyance has to be signed, witnessed, and delivered along with the other elements mentioned above. The Notary doesn’t validate the Conveyance; the Notary makes the Conveyance recordable.
A recorded deed is ideal because it places everyone on notice that the property has been conveyed. This truly helps keeps the chain of title cleaner, making it easier to insure with a title policy, and easier to sell or convey the property in the future.
If Grandpa has signed and delivered his property to a Buyer, but the closing hasn’t happened yet and Grandpa dies, then the deed is no good. But if we get the deed from Grandpa, the Buyer has come in and given the title company the money, the title company is ready to disperse, and THEN Grandpa dies, the property conveys, even though it’s not recorded yet.
While death in the middle of a real estate deal is unusual, it does happen, and a corpse at the closing table is not a good look on the transaction. For the deed to be valid in Florida, the Buyer and the Seller both need to be alive at the Conveyance. Dead men sell no sales.
From Land Title Talk Podcast on YouTube
October 16, 2025
Written by Stephen Collins and CJ Godwin
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