JANNIE BARKER, AS PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE, ETC., APPELLANT,
v.
LINDA CRAWFORD, APPELLEE

Fla. 3d DCA | 2009-07-29
No. 3D08-2251
Before SHEPHERD and SALTER, JJ., and SCHWARTZ, Senior Judge.
16 So. 3d 901 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (2009) 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

In a post-divorce dispute over deferred compensation fund benefits, the court reversed the trial court's finding that a mediated settlement agreement did not address the former wife's beneficiary rights. The appellate court concluded that the agreement's language giving the husband the deferred compensation fund was sufficient to waive the former wife's pre-dissolution beneficiary designation.


Holding

The court held that the general master correctly construed the mediated settlement agreement's language stating the husband would retain the deferred compensation fund as sufficient to waive the former wife's pre-dissolution designation as beneficiary of the account.


Headnotes

[1] A statement in a mediated settlement agreement that a party shall retain retirement money from a specific fund is sufficient to waive the party's pre-dissolution designat…

[2] A party's failure to reaffirm a former spouse as beneficiary of a deferred compensation account following a dissolution of marriage confirms the intent that the money fro…

Previewing 2 of 2 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

“Manuel R. Crawford could have reaffirmed the designation of Linda Crawford had he chosen to do so following the dissolution of marriage. The fact that he did not reaffirm Linda Crawford as the beneficiary of this account confirms his intent that he was the beneficiary of this fund and that the money from the fund remained his at all times following the dissolution.”

Establishes that the husband's failure to reaffirm the wife as beneficiary after divorce demonstrates his intent to retain the fund as his own property.

Previewing 1 of 2 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

During the marriage, Linda Crawford was named as the designated beneficiary of Manuel R. Crawford's deferred compensation fund with the Town of Surfsi…

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
SHEPHERD, J.

SHEPHERD, J.

We summarily reverse the trial court’s “Order on Respondent’s Exceptions to General Master’s Report and Recommendations” insofar as it states, “This Court finds that no reference was made in the Amended Family Mediation Unit Agreement incorporated by reference into the Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage to the Respondent’s beneficiary rights to the proceeds of the subject deferred compensation account.” Instead, we conclude, based upon de novo review, the general master correctly construed the statement in the Amended (Short Form) Family Mediation Unit Agreement that “Husband shall retain retirement money with the Town of Surfside and the Deferred Compensation Fund f/k/a Pepsco,” was sufficient to waive the former husband’s pre-dissolution designation of the former wife as a beneficiary.

On this point, the general magistrate stated in his report and recommendation:

During the course of the marriage, “Linda Crawford — wife” was named as the designated beneficiary of the Deferred Compensation Fund. However, Linda Crawford and Manuel R. Crawford agreed at the time of the signing of the amended mediated settlement agreement that Manuel R. Crawford should get the money from this fund and that he should be the beneficiary. Manuel R. Crawford could have reaffirmed the des*902ignation of Linda Crawford had he chosen to do so following the dissolution of marriage. The fact that he did not reaffirm Linda Crawford as the beneficiary of this account confirms his intent that he was the beneficiary of this fund and that the money from the fund remained his at all times following the dissolution.

We conclude the general master’s analysis is the legally correct one. See Cooper v. Muccitelli, 682 So.2d 77 (Fla.1996); Smith v. Smith, 919 So.2d 525 (Fla. 5th DCA 2005).

Reversed and remanded.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Crawford v. Jannie Barker, 64 So. 3d 1246 (Fla. 2011)
    …e fact that he did not reaffirm Linda Crawford as the beneficiary of this account confirms his intent that he was the beneficiary of this fund and that the money from the fund remained his at all times following the dissolution. Barker v. Crawford, 16 So. 3d 901, 901-02 (Fla. 3d DCA 2009). I cannot join my colleagues in the majority because the decision today penalizes would-be litigants who turn to mediation as an alternative, cost-efficient form of dispute resolution in domestic matters. Mediation is des…
    1 / 4

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw