CHARLES E. MCGUIRE, II, APPELLANT,
v.
PAMELA V. MCGUIRE, APPELLEE

Fla. 3d DCA | 1980-06-24
No. 79-1737
Before SCHWARTZ and DANIEL S. PEARSON, JJ., and PEARSON, TILLMAN (Ret.), Associate Judge.
385 So. 2d 151 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1980) Positive Treatment
Cited by 4 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

A husband appeals a final divorce judgment and property settlement agreement, claiming it was procured through overreaching, duress, and coercion. The trial court denied his petition to set aside the agreement, and the appellate court affirmed, finding the agreement was voluntary, fair, and that lack of legal representation alone does not entitle a party to vacate a valid settlement.


Holding

A party is not entitled to set aside a voluntary and patently fair agreement merely because such party entered into it without legal counsel. The lack of legal representation does not provide grounds for vacating a valid settlement agreement unless accompanied by other factors such as unconscionability or undue influence.


Headnotes

[1] A party's admissions that an agreement was understood, entered into freely and voluntarily, and substantially similar to a prior temporary agreement support a finding tha…

[2] An agreement is not unconscionable or oppressive when it involves a waiver of alimony claims in exchange for a share of marital home equity, assumption of minor debts, an…

Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Key Quotes

“a party is entitled to set aside a voluntary and patently fair agreement on the ground that such party entered into it without the assistance of counsel”

Establishes the core holding that lack of legal representation alone is insufficient grounds to vacate a fair settlement agreement

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

The husband and wife entered into a property settlement agreement following a ten-minute discussion. The agreement provided that the wife waive all al…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
DANIEL S. PEARSON, Judge.

DANIEL S. PEARSON, Judge.

The husband appeals from the trial court’s denial of his petition to set aside and vacate the final judgment of divorce and a property settlement agreement between the parties. The husband’s claim that the agreement was procured by overreaching, duress and coercion was, as the trial court found, overwhelmingly belied by his own admissions that (a) a ten-minute discussion with his wife led to his assent; (b) the agreement, except for his conveyance of his share of the minimal equity in the marital home, was substantially the same as an unchallenged temporary allowance agreement he had made several months before; (c) he acknowledged to the trial judge that he understood the agreement and it was entered into by him freely and voluntarily, without coercion or duress 1; and (d) significantly, he agreed to its terms because at that time he was living frugally at home.

Moreover, under the parties’ circumstances, nothing about the agreement was unconscionable or oppressive.2 Essentially, the agreement provided that the wife waive all claims to rehabilitative or permanent alimony in exchange for the husband’s $3,000 share of the marital home, each assume certain minor debts, each pay his and her own attorney, and the husband pay minimal child support and provide medical insurance for the child.

Until now we have omitted the heart of the husband’s claim. He says that because he was without legal representation at the time he agreed, at the time he confirmed his agreement to the court, and at the time he executed the written instrument, the trial court erred in denying him relief.3 Moss-Jacober v. Moss, 334 So. 2d 89 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976), does not, as he suggests, stand for the proposition that a party is entitled to set aside a voluntary and patently fair agreement on the ground that such party entered into it without the assistance of counsel. The lack of representation in Moss-Jacober was not critical to that decision. Instead, that case turns on the fact that the agreement was “outrageously unconscionable,” was a product of undue influence established by competent testimony, and that the trial court (observing that the agreement was patently oppressive) was misinformed by the advantaged wife that the agreement was masochistically brought about by the husband.4 The fact that in Moss-Jacober the husband was without legal representation served only to corroborate that the husband, without the insulating effect of counsel, was more susceptible to undue influence and less enlightened about the agreement’s oppressive terms.

Affirmed.

. The meeting of the minds occurred shortly before a court hearing on January 15, 1979. Nine days later, the agreement was reduced to writing, and the husband, still without protest, executed it.

. In fact, the trial judge remarked that the agreement was less onerous to the husband than what the court would have awarded the wife.

. The husband had an attorney until several weeks before the final hearing. When this attorney withdrew, the husband chose not to hire new counsel until he decided to move to set aside the agreement. This action was taken within a month of the entry of final judgment.

. Unlike the present case, the husband in Moss-Jacober was not before the court when the agreement was presented.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Bubenik v. Bubenik, 392 So. 2d 943 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980)
    …552 (Fla. 2d DCA 1966); Belcher v. Belcher, 271 So. 2d 7 (Fla.1972); Bailey v. Bailey, 300 So. 2d 294 (Fla. 4th DCA 1974); Hicks v. Hicks, 313 So. 2d 64 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975); Moss-Jacober v. Moss, 334 So. 2d 89 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976); McGuire v. McGuire, 385 So. 2d 151 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980). Reversed and remanded, with directions.…
  • Tenneboe v. Tenneboe, 558 So. 2d 470 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990)
    …ck of legal representation of one of the parties to a marital settlement agreement is not sufficient, in and of itself, as a ground to have the agreement vacated or modified. Bubenik v. Bubenik, 392 So. 2d 943 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980); McGuire v. McGuire, 385 So. 2d 151 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980). Cf. Casto v. Casto, 508 So. 2d at 332, 334-335.2 Rather, the presence or absence of legal representation is just one factor for the court to consider and weigh, along with all other circumstances in the case, when claims of fraud…

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw