LILIANAN GUELMAN AND LIDIA GUELMAN, APPELLANTS,
v.
ELBA FORMENTE DE GUELMAN, AND STEVEN BROTMAN, AS PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATE OF MARIO GUELMAN, DECEASED, APPELLEES
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The Florida appellate court affirmed the trial court's determination that a marriage validly entered into in Bolivia in 1971 was valid and that the decedent and his spouse were domiciled in Florida at the time of death in 1976, applying principles of presumption of valid marriage and deference to expert testimony on foreign law.
The trial court properly found the marriage valid and the couple domiciled in Florida. A trial court's interpretation of foreign law is sustained if consistent with expert testimony, and a presumption of valid marriage exists when an official performs the ceremony without known impediments.
[1] A trial court's interpretation of foreign law is sustainable if consistent with expert opinion, even if disputed.
[2] A marriage is presumed valid.
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“A trial court will be sustained in its interpretation of the law of a foreign country if its interpretation is consistent with that given by an expert on the law of such foreign jurisdiction, even though such expert opinion may be in dispute.”
Establishes the standard of review and deference given to trial courts when they rely on expert testimony regarding foreign law.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMario Guelman married in Bolivia in 1971. The decedent died in 1976 while domiciled in Florida with his wife. The trial court found the marriage valid…
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PER CURIAM.
A trial court will be sustained in its interpretation of the law of a foreign country if its interpretation is consistent with that given by an expert on the law of such foreign jurisdiction, even though such expert opinion may be in dispute. In Re: Evers’ Estate, 160 Fla. 225, 34 So. 2d 561 (1948); Mori v. Matsushita Electric Corporation of America, 380 So. 2d 461 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980); Clausi v. Casner Motors, Inc., 112 So. 2d 587 (Fla. 3d DCA 1959).
A marriage is presumed valid. Teel v. Nolen Brown Motors, Inc., 93 So. 2d 874 (Fla.1957); In Re Estate of Lee, 360 So. 2d 1111 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978); Grace v. Grace, 162 So. 2d 314 (Fla. 1st DCA 1964); Accord: In Re Estate of Marden, 355 So. 2d 121 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978). It is presumed that an official performing a marriage service, whether in a foreign or domestic jurisdiction would not have performed the service if there was any known impediment to the marriage. See and Compare: State v. Lawrence, 120 Fla. 836, 163 So. 231 (1935); Hillsborough County Aviation Authority v. Taller & Cooper, Inc., 245 So. 2d 100 (Fla. 2d DCA 1971); Hunter v. Carmichael, 133 So. 2d 584 (Fla. 2d DCA 1961). In light of the above, we find no error in the trial court (probate division) finding that the marriage was validly entered into in Bolivia in 1971 and that the decedent and his wife were domiciled in Florida at the time of the death of the decedent in 1976. Ogden v. Ogden, 159 Fla. 604, 33 So. 2d 870 (1947); Minick v. Minick, 111 Fla. 469, 149 So. 483 (1933); Walker v. Harris, 398 So. 2d 955 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981); In Re Estate of Lee, supra; Grace v. Grace, supra.
Therefore the final order under review is hereby affirmed.
Affirmed.
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Johnson v. Lincoln Square Props., Inc., 571 So. 2d 541 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990)…riage was invalid under Puerto Rican law, [*543] Florida refused to recognize it. The court held that the validity of marriage is determined by the law of the state where the contract of marriage occurred. Id. at 244. See also Guelman v. De Guelman, 453 So. 2d 1159, 1160 (Fla. 3rd DCA 1984) (trial court did not err in finding Bolivia marriage valid, pursuant to Bolivian law). Although there are no Florida decisions which have held that section 741.211 invalidates out-of-state common law marriages, the Attorne…
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Transportes Aereos Nacionales, S.A. v. de Brenes, 625 So. 2d 4 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993)…ns and sentences. See K. Karst, Latin American Legal Institutions: Problems for Comparative Study 256, 260-261 (1966) (discussion on the conviction rate in the criminal tribunal for homicide or negligently caused injuries). . Guelman v. De Guelman, 453 So. 2d 1159 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984), relied upon by the appellees for the proposition that an interpretation of foreign law is an issue of fact, is neither a correct statement of the law nor applicable to the question presented in this case. In Guelman the correct i…
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Cobo v. Sierralta, 13 So. 3d 493 (Fla. 3d DCA 2009)…nezuela in 1994, a marriage which expert testimony confirmed would not have been authorized under Venezuelan law absent official confirmation by a Venezuelan notary that no legal impediment to Delaney’s remarriage existed. Accord Guelman v. Guelman, 453 So. 2d 1159 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984) (“It is presumed that an official performing a marriage service, whether in a foreign or domestic jurisdiction would not have performed the service if there was any known impediment to the marriage.”). Because Sierralta did not su…
Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited (16 total)
- Minick v. Minick, 111 Fla. 469 (Fla. 1933)
- Ogden v. Clement Moore Ogden, 159 Fla. 604 (Fla. 1947)
- Tomasello v. Nisbet, 110 Fla. 256 (Fla. 1933)
- Lippman v. Longergan, 380 So. 2d 461 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980)
- Tomasello v. Nisbet, 111 Fla. 620 (Fla. 1933)
- Blanch Teel v. Nolen Brown Motors, Inc., 93 So. 2d 874 (Fla. 1957)
- In re Est. of Carrie F. Evers v. Am. Legion Hosp. for Crippled Child., 160 Fla. 225 (Fla. 1948)
- Walker v. Harris, 398 So. 2d 955 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981)
- Clausi v. Casner Motors, Inc., 112 So. 2d 587 (Fla. 3d DCA 1959)
- In re Est. of Ben Marden v. Gertrude Bacon, 355 So. 2d 121 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978)