VICTOR ADERHOLD, APPELLANT,
v.
BRENDA LEE ADERHOLD, WIFE, APPELLEE

Fla. 1st DCA | 2008-05-05
No. 1D07-1575
DAVIS and BENTON, JJ., concur.
983 So. 2d 43 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (2008) Positive Treatment
Cited by 1 case

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

Victor Aderhold appeals the trial court's dissolution of marriage judgment, which divided marital property by treating Aderhold, his wife, and his mother as tenants in common with equal one-third interests. The appellate court reverses, holding that the spouses properly took title as tenants by the entireties (one-half interest) with the mother as a tenant in common (one-half interest).


Holding

The court held that a conveyance to spouses as "husband and wife" creates an estate by the entirety absent express language showing contrary intent, regardless of whether the deed explicitly states this. Therefore, the spouses held a one-half undivided interest as tenants by the entireties, while the mother held the remaining one-half interest as a tenant in common.


Headnotes

[1] A conveyance to spouses as husband and wife creates an estate by the entirety in the absence of express language showing a contrary intent.

[2] A deed conveying property to a married couple and a third party creates a tenancy by the entirety between the married couple and a tenancy in common between the married c…

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Key Quotes

“A conveyance to spouses as husband and wife creates an estate by the entirety in the absence of express language showing a contrary intent.”

Establishes the foundational Florida law presumption governing spousal property ownership

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Facts & Procedural History

Victor Aderhold and Brenda Aderhold were married on June 18, 2004. On March 15, 2005, a warranty deed conveyed property and improvements to "Victor W.…

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Opinion of the Court
THOMAS, J.

[*44] THOMAS, J.

Appellant appeals the trial court’s final dissolution of marriage, arguing that the court erred by finding that he, his former wife (Appellee), and Vivian Aderhold, his mother, took title to the subject property as tenants in common, each with an undivided one-third interest. We agree, and reverse.

Appellant and Appellee were married on June 18, 2004. On March 15, 2005, a warranty deed was executed for a piece of property and the improvements on it, including the marital home. Appellant’s mother, who was in failing health, lived with them in the home. The warranty deed conveying the property to the parties specifically granted it to “Victor W. Ader-hold and Brenda Aderhold, husband and wife, and Vivian W. Aderhold, a single woman[J”

Appellant filed a petition for dissolution of marriage on June 1, 2006. The court issued a final judgment of dissolution on February 1, 2007, dividing the parties’ assets and liabilities, including the subject property. In dividing the property, the court found that the warranty deed failed to specify whether the property was held as tenants by the entireties or as tenants in common; therefore, the court concluded that all three held the property as tenants in common, with each having an undivided one-third interest in the property.

Whether the court erred in finding that Appellant and Appellee took the property as tenants in common with Appellant’s mother presents a legal question, which this court reviews under the de novo standard of review. See S. Baptist Hosp. of Fla., Inc. v. Welker, 908 So. 2d 317, 319-20 (Fla.2005).

“A conveyance to spouses as husband and wife creates an estate by the entirety in the absence of express language showing a contrary intent.” Beal Bank, SSB v. Almand & Assocs., 780 So. 2d 45, 54 (Fla.2001) (quoting In re Estate of Suggs, 405 So. 2d 1360, 1361 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981)). It is immaterial that the deed does not contain language specifically stating that the husband and wife take title to the property by the entireties. See id. at n. 9 (citing Amer. Cent. Ins. Co. v. Whitlock, 122 Fla. 363, 165 So. 380, 381 (1936)). “The rule is rooted in the historical notion that a husband and wife are ‘but one person in law.’ ” Mitchell v. Mitchell, 344 B.R. 171, 174 (Bkrtcy.M.D.Fla.2006) (quoting Winchester v. Wells, 265 F. 2d 405, 407 (5th Cir.1959)). Based on these rules in Florida law, the bankruptcy court in Mitchell concluded that when the warranty deed conveyed the property to “Bob Mark Mitchell and Rachel Mitchell, Husband and Wife and Michael Mitchell,” the husband and wife took title to the subject property as tenants by the entireties with an undivided one-half interest, while their son took title to the property as a joint tenant. Id.

Similarly, because there is nothing to indicate that Appellant and Appellee did not intend to take title as tenants by the entireties, we conclude that they owned the property as tenants by the entireties with an undivided one-half interest. Appellant’s mother then took title to the property as a tenant in common with them, retaining a one-half interest in the property. Thus, Appellant and Appellee hold a one-half undivided interest in the marital home, and Appellant’s mother holds the other one-half undivided interest in the home.

Accordingly, we reverse the final judgment and remand for further proceedings.

REVERSED and REMANDED.

DAVIS and BENTON, JJ., concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Ioan Ciungu v. Melania Bulea, 162 So. 3d 290 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015)
    …ds. Appellant conveyed the fee simple (“... all right, title, interest, claim and demand which the said grantor has ... ”) to the husband and wife, who held the fee simple by the entirety subject to Appellant’s life estate. See Aderhold v. Aderhold, 983 So. 2d 43, 44 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008); Saltzman v. Ahern, 306 So. 2d 537, 539-40 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975). Thus, Appellant retained only a present possessory interest in .the fee simple, while John and Victoria Ciungu held the remainder interest. See Anemaet v. Martin…

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