In re Estate of Edsell

3 Fla. Supp. 2d 163
CourtCircuit Court for the Judicial Circuits of Florida
DecidedJanuary 17, 1983
DocketCase No. 82-135 CP 12
StatusPublished

This text of 3 Fla. Supp. 2d 163 (In re Estate of Edsell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Circuit Court for the Judicial Circuits of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Estate of Edsell, 3 Fla. Supp. 2d 163 (Fla. Super. Ct. 1983).

Opinion

HELIO GOMEZ, Circuit Judge

THIS MATTER came on for final hearing before the Court on January 3, 1983, on the “Petition to Set Aside and Assign a Share of the Estate to the Pretermitted Spouse”, filed by the Decedent’s widow, Mary June Edsell.

The wife, in addition to her own testimony, presented the testimony of her sister, Fern Rohrer Barnhard, her brother-in-law, Harold D. Smith, the deposition testimony of her brother, James Rohrer, the testimony (as an adverse witness) of the Co-Personal Representative, [164]*164James C. Edsell, and the following exhibits: the Decedent’s will; the inventory filed by the Co-Personal Representatives in this Estate; the Pre-Marital Agreement executed by the parties on February 6, 1981; and the will of the Petitioner’s father, Perry L. Rohrer. In addition, the Petitioner’s tax returns for 1980 and 1981 were marked as exhibits for identification.

FINDINGS OF FACT

From the testimony and exhibits presented by the Petitioner, and viewing such evidence in the light most favorable to her, the Court finds that the Petitioner and the Decedent, Ralph Edsell, met in 1978, when the Petitioner was a guest at “The Moorings,” a resort owned and operated by the Decedent in Islamorada. The Decedent, who had been a lawyer in Long Island, New York, had owned and operated The Moorings since approximately 1975.

A relationship between the Decedent and the Petitioner ensued, and they lived together at The Moorings for about three years prior to their marriage. During this period, the Petitioner helped run the business, and apparently also did some other work, including (in Í981) selling handbags which she had painted. Also, during this period, the Petitioner and the Decedent bought a home in Monson, Maine, for a purchase price of $21,500. The down payment of $5,000 was paid one-half each by the Petitioner and the Decedent, and they took title to the property as joint tenants. They also purchased a lot in Islamorada for $9,000, with each party paying one-half in cash.

In addition to her interest in these properties, the Petitioner’s assets as of the date of their marriae on February 7, 1981, including a savings account in Islamorada with an approximate balance of $3,000, a savings account in Monson, Maine, with an approximate balance of $1,000, a 1976 Buick with an approximate value of $1,200, a money market fund with a balance of approximately $3,000, and an interest, as beneficiary, in the “June Drake Fund” created by the will of her father, Perry L. Rohrer (Petitioner’s Exhibit 4). As of the date of the marriage, the approximate principal value of this fund was $82,000.

The parties were married on February 7, 1981, in Islamorada. On the day prior to the marriage, Mr. Edsell prepared, and the Petitioner typed and signed, a “Pre-Marital Agreement,” a copy of which is attached to the Answer, and a copy of which was admitted into evidence as Petitioner’s Exhibit 3. This Agreement specifically provides that “neither party shall have any spouses’ claim to the estate of the other.”

The marriage in Islamorada was apparently attended by two couples as witnesses. Prior to the signing of the Agreement, these couples had [165]*165been invited, the wedding cake had been purchased, and other such arrangements for marriage had been made. Subsequent to the marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Edsell went on a cruise with various members of the wife’s family. This cruise was entirely paid for by the wife’s mother.

Fern Barnhard testified that she visited the Petitioner and the Decedent in Islamorada in December, 1980, and that the Decedent said (in the Petitioner’s presence), that “I have told my children that June can stay at The Moorings all her life.” Harold D. Smith testified that he visited The Moorings in the latter part of 1979, and that Ralph told him (not in the Petitioner’s presence) that “in the event of his [Ralph’s] death we could be assured that June would be well taken care of.”

The inventory of the Estate, marked as Petitioner’s Exhibit 2, indicates that the Decedent’s estate as of 6he date of his death had a value of approximately $140,000, not including the value of The Moorings. John C. Edsell testified that The Moorings has an approximate present value of $500,000.

At the conclusion of the Petitioner’s case, the Co-Personal Representatives moved for a judgment of involuntary dismissal. After hearing the arguments of counsel, considering the pleadings filed, and considering the evidence presented by the Petitioner, the Court granted this Motion. This ruling is based on the following conclusions of law:

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

1. In the early stages of the trial, the Court discussed with counsel the Court’s view that the Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings, filed by the Co-Personal Representatives and previously denied by the Court, should have been granted. This view was based on the fact that the Petitioner’s pleadings admitted that the Pre-Marital Agreement had been executed by the parties prior to their marriage. Under section 732.702 of the Florida Probate Code, an agreement so executed is binding without regard to disclosure of assets. The case-law requirement of disclosure, set forth by the Florida Supreme Court in such cases as Del Vecchio v. Del Vecchio, 143 So. 2d 17 (Fla. 1961), has been “suppllanted by statute . . Estate of Reed, 354 So. 2d 864, 866 (Fla. 1978). Therefore, in a probate proceeding, the spouse attacking the pre-marital agreement must be “able to show that her signature on such an agreement had been coerced or otherwise improperly obtained or that she was incompetent at the time she signed . . Estate of Roberts, 388 So. 2d 216, 217 (Fla. 1980. The wife’s Reply in this instance does not raise such defenses, but rather relies upon the “unfairness” of the agreement, and “overreaching” on the part of the husband. Such defenses, as a matter of law, are not sufficient to set aside a pre-marital agreement in the contest of a probate proceeding.

[166]*166The Florida Supreme Court has held that section 732.702 applies solely to probate proceedings, and that dissolution of marriage actions are still governed by the common-law standards announced in Del Vecchio. See Weintraub v. Weintraub, 417 So. 2d 629 (Fla. 1982). In addition to the different equities involved in a dissolution of marriage case, the courts have noted that, in a probate action, as opposed to a dissolution action, the husband (being dead) is not able to respond to the wife’s allegations. Under such circumstances, it is appropriate to place what may seem to be a heavy burden placed on the wife by the Roberts case, and the pleadings here are not sufficient to raise that issue. Therefore, as a matter of law, the wife in this case has failed to plead sufficient facts to require that the agreement be set aside, and the Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings should have been granted.

2. Because, however, the time for rehearing on the Motion had expired, and because the wife’s attorney requested the opportunity to present his evidence and witnesses, the trial proceeded with the testimony and other evidence offered by the wife in support of the matters raised by her Reply to the Affirmative Defenses.

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Related

Lutgert v. Lutgert
338 So. 2d 1111 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1976)
Estate of Roberts
388 So. 2d 216 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1980)
In Re Estate of Reed
354 So. 2d 864 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1978)
Del Vecchio v. Del Vecchio
143 So. 2d 17 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1962)
Weintraub v. Weintraub
417 So. 2d 629 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1982)

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Bluebook (online)
3 Fla. Supp. 2d 163, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-estate-of-edsell-flacirct-1983.