ELLIS FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF WEST PASCO, APPELLANT,
v.
MARIAM C. DOWNING, APPELLEE

Fla. 2d DCA | 1983-12-28
No. 82-2472
OTT, C.J., and LEHAN, J., concur.
443 So. 2d 337 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (1983) Caution
Cited by 10 cases

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Synopsis

The court considered whether an antenuptial agreement signed before marriage was valid despite the wife's lack of legal representation and sophistication, and the husband's failure to make adequate disclosure or provision for her.


Holding

The court held that the antenuptial agreement was not validly executed because the wife did not voluntarily enter into it, considering the totality of the circumstances.


Headnotes

[1] An antenuptial agreement executed before marriage requires no disclosure of assets to be valid under Florida law.

[2] An antenuptial agreement may be set aside if a signature was coerced, improperly obtained, or if a party was incompetent at the time of signing.

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Facts & Procedural History

A bank, as personal representative of an estate, appealed an order denying its motion to strike a widow's claim for an elective share, asserting an an…

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Opinion of the Court
SCHEB, Judge.

SCHEB, Judge.

Appellant, Ellis National Bank of West Pasco, was named personal representative of the Estate of William Downing. The bank appeals an order denying its motion to strike the claim of Mariam C. Downing, who sought to take an elective share of her husband’s estate. We find merit in appellant’s position.

Mr. and Mrs. Downing met in 1978. Each had been previously married. On January 17, 1979, they signed an antenup-tial agreement whereby they released all claims against each other’s estates. Two days after the signing of the agreement, they married. Mr. Downing died about a year and a half later, and Mrs. Downing filed for an elective share of her husband’s estate pursuant to section 732.201, Florida Statutes (1981). The bank interposed the Downings’ antenuptial agreement and contended that by signing the agreement, Mrs. Downing had relinquished all claims against her husband’s estate. After a nonjury trial the court concluded that Mrs. Downing had not validly relinquished her right to claim an elective share of the estate. This appeal by the bank ensued bringing into focus the validity of the antenuptial agreement.

In concluding that Mrs. Downing had not voluntarily executed the agreement, the trial judge based his ruling on the following factual findings: (1) the failure of Mr. Downing to make any provision for his wife; (2) the inadequacy of disclosure by Mr. Downing of his true assets; (3) the brief time between the first presentation of the agreement to Mrs. Downing and its execution; and (4) Mrs. Downing’s lack of legal representation, her age , and her lack of sophistication. Considering the totality of circumstances and relying on this court’s opinion in Lutgert v. Lutgert, 338 So. 2d 1111 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976), the court determined that Mrs. Downing had not voluntarily entered into the agreement.

Historically, for an antenuptial agreement to be valid in the probate context, it was essential that it include a fair and reasonable provision for the wife, or be based on a fair disclosure of the husband’s assets, or at least a showing that the wife had a general knowledge of the husband’s assets. Del Vecchio v. Del Vecchio, 143 So. 2d 17 (Fla.1962). The rule was later extended to dissolution of marriage situations. Posner v. Posner, 233 So. 2d 381 (Fla.1970).

Subsequent to the supreme court’s decisions in Del Vecchio and Posner, the legislature, in 1974, enacted section 732.-702(2) pertaining to antenuptial agreements and the rights of a surviving spouse. That section, as amended in 1975, stipulates:

Each spouse shall make a fair disclosure to the other of his or her estate if the agreement, contract, or waiver is executed after marriage. No disclosure shall be required for an agreement, contract, or waiver executed before marriage.

(Emphasis supplied.) This statute was in effect when the Downings entered into their agreement. Consequently, the court’s findings concerning the inadequacy of the provisions for the wife and the absence of a fair disclosure do not support the trial court’s conclusion.

Further, the trial court erred in relying on Lutgert v. Lutgert, which deals solely with an antenuptial agreement in the context of a dissolution of marriage action. Weintraub v. Weintraub, 417 So. 2d 629 (Fla.1982). The statute overrides the guidelines of Del Vecchio in the context of a probate proceeding. Coleman v. Estate of Coleman, 439 So. 2d 1016 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983). Notwithstanding the statutory provision, an antenuptial agreement may still be challenged. For example, an agreement may be set aside if one of the signatures was coerced or improperly obtained, or if one of the parties was incompetent at the time the agreement was signed. Estate of Roberts v. Roberts, 388 So. 2d 216 (Fla.1980).

Here, the trial court was concerned not only about the lack of provisions for the wife and unfair disclosure but also about the short period between the presentation and execution of the agreement, the lack of legal representation, and Mrs. Downing’s lack of business sophistication. The evidence, however, disclosed that Mrs. Downing attended a business college for one year and was employed in various business and governmental offices during her working career. She testified that Mr. Downing had discussed the agreement with her five or six days before their marriage. The legal secretary for Mr. Bilirakis, the attorney who drafted the agreement, testified that she informed Mrs. Downing that she was free to seek counsel before signing the agreement. Mrs. Downing did not dispute this testimony. In fact, when asked at trial, “You signed the agreement voluntarily on January 17, 1979?” she replied, “Yes, I did.”

The evidence does not indicate that Mrs. Downing was either coerced or incompetent to sign the agreement, or that she entered into the agreement involuntarily. Accordingly, we direct the trial court to grant the bank’s motion to strike the claims of Mrs. Downing filed against her husband’s estate.

REVERSED.

OTT, C.J., and LEHAN, J., concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • In re Est. OF Ralph James Edsell, Jr. v. Evered, 447 So. 2d 263 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983)
    …ch promulgated Lutgert has since held that the case applies only to dissolution of marriage proceedings where the other party is available to testify, and has no application to probate proceedings. Ellis First National Bank of West Pasco v. Downing, 443 So. 2d 337 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983). The policy reasons are obvious. In most cases the only witness to circumstances surrounding execution of the antenuptial agreement is the other party whose lips are sealed by death. Section 732.702(2), Florida Statutes (1983)1 m…
  • Est. OF H. Ransley Sage v. Sage, 515 So. 2d 1324 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987)
    …he Supreme Court of Florida has looked to the date of death to determine whether to apply section 732.702, Florida Statutes (1975). In re Estate of Reed, 354 So. 2d 864, 865 (Fla.1978). The case of Ellis First National Bank of West Pasco v. Downing, 443 So. 2d 337 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983), urged upon us by appellee, is distinguishable on its facts. In Downing, the signing of the agreement and the death of the decedent both occurred after the effective date of section 732.702(2). Id. at 337. We hold, as has our sist…
  • Moldofsky v. Stregack, 449 So. 2d 918 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984)
    …ined or that she was incompetent at the time she signed, section 732.702(2) would not bar her challenge to the validity of the agreement, (emphasis added) Estate of Roberts, 388 So. 2d at 217. See Ellis First National Bank of West Pasco v. Downing, 443 So. 2d 337 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983). Since fraud is a long-standing ground for setting aside contracts, we are of the opinion that the court meant for fraud to be encompassed within the phrase emphasized above. Furthermore,, this court has previously indicated that…
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