ROBERT GERARD, APPELLANT,
v.
VALARIE GERARD, APPELLEE

Fla. 1st DCA | 1994-05-09
No. 93-814
JOANOS and KAHN, JJ., concur.
636 So. 2d 849 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (1994) Positive Treatment
Cited by 4 cases

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Synopsis

In a dissolution of marriage appeal, the Florida District Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's decision to set aside a quitclaim deed to the marital home based on the parties' reconciliation and their intent to void the agreement, and also affirmed the award of permanent periodic alimony to the wife.


Holding

The court affirmed the trial court's decision to void the deed and set aside the settlement agreement based on evidence of the parties' intent to abrogate the agreement upon reconciliation, and affirmed the alimony award, finding both decisions supported by competent substantial evidence.


Headnotes

[1] Reconciliation of parties to a marriage rescinds executory contracts entered into during separation, but not contracts already executed.

[2] The intention of the parties governs whether a separation agreement and related executed documents are abrogated by subsequent reconciliation.

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Key Quotes

“reconciliation rescinds executory contracts, but not contracts already executed”

Statement of the general rule from Miller v. West Palm Beach Atlantic National Bank that executed contracts survive reconciliation

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Facts & Procedural History

In 1987, Robert and Valarie Gerard separated and executed a stipulation and agreement whereby Robert would pay Valarie $40,000 for her interest in the…

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Opinion of the Court
ERVIN, Judge.

ERVIN, Judge.

In his appeal from a final judgment of dissolution of marriage, appellant, Robert Gerard, raises the following points: 1) that the lower court erred in setting aside a quitclaim deed to the marital home executed by appellee, Valarie Gerard, to him, as part of a marital settlement agreement, based on the parties’ reconciliation; and 2) that the court’s award of permanent, periodic alimony to the wife was an abuse of discretion. We affirm as to both points and consider that only the former requires discussion.

In 1987, the parties first separated and entered into a stipulation and agreement wherein they agreed that the husband would pay $40,000 to the wife for her interest in the marital home. Pursuant to the agreement, the wife signed a quitclaim deed to her interest in the home. The deed was, however, never recorded, and no divorce was obtained at the time because the parties reconciled and remained together until shortly before the present suit was filed.

Appellant correctly relies upon Miller v. West Palm Beach Atlantic National Bank, 142 Fla. 22, 194 So. 230, 231 (1940), for the rule that reconciliation rescinds executory contracts, but not contracts already executed. He argues that because the deed was executed, it is immaterial whether he and his wife reconciled. Nevertheless, Miller also recognizes that the intention of the parties governs the question of whether the agreement can be considered abrogated by the reconciliation.

In the present case, competent, substantial evidence supports the alternative theory for voiding the deed based on the parties’ intent. The wife clearly testified that she thought the agreement and deed were no longer effective once the parties reconciled. She used the $30,000 which the husband had deposited into the joint checking account to pay bills incurred during the marriage so that they could have, in her words, “a fresh start.” She used the car given to her in the stipulation as a downpayment on a truck for the parties’ daughter. Although the husband did not directly testify as to his intent, he never recorded the deed, and he obtained mortgages on the property in both their names. He initially paid only $30,000 (the sum obtained before the stipulation was signed); the remaining $10,000 that he claimed he paid was not even obtained until two years later when the parties signed a second mortgage on the property. The foregoing constitutes competent, substantial evidence to support the trial court’s conclusion that the parties intended to void the agreement and deed when they reconciled.

AFFIRMED.

JOANOS and KAHN, JJ., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • COX v. Kimi Lea COX, 659 So. 2d 1051 (Fla. 1995)
    …ded that "[a]ppellant correctly relies upon Miller v. West Palm Beach Atlantic National Bank, 142 Fla. 22, 194 So. 230, 231 (1940), for the rule that reconciliation rescinds executory contracts, but not contracts already executed.” Gerard v. Gerard, 636 So. 2d 849, 850 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994). . Of course, the unexecuted portions of the support provisions were also abrogated. . In passing, we note that the trial court declined to award Kimi Cox permanent alimony "[d]ue [in part] to the short duration of the mar…
  • Kimi Lea COX v. COX, 638 So. 2d 586 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994)
    …difficult question,” resulting in several lines of cases. Homer H. Clark, Jr., The Law of Domestic Relations § 19.7, at 438 (2nd ed. 1987) [hereinafter Clark ]. One line of cases holds that the intention of the parties governs. See Gerard v. Gerard, 636 So. 2d 849 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994) (holding that there was competent substantial evidence to support the conclusion that the parties intended to void the marital settlement agreement and a deed when they reconciled). Another line holds that reconciliation voids a…

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