Johnson v. Johnson

140 So. 2d 358
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedApril 25, 1962
Docket2566
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 140 So. 2d 358 (Johnson v. Johnson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Johnson v. Johnson, 140 So. 2d 358 (Fla. Ct. App. 1962).

Opinion

140 So.2d 358 (1962)

Myrtle JOHNSON, Appellant,
v.
Hubert L. JOHNSON, As Executor of the Estate of W.A. Johnson, Deceased, Appellee.

No. 2566.

District Court of Appeal of Florida. Second District.

April 25, 1962.

W. Dexter Douglass of Hall, Hartwell & Douglass, Tallahassee, and Farr & Farr, Punta Gorda, for appellant.

Warren E. Hall, Jr., and Stephen H. Grimes of Holland, Bevis & Smith, Bartow, for appellee.

SHANNON, Chief Judge.

The defendant appeals from a final decree which granted the relief prayed for in the plaintiff's complaint for declaratory decree.

The plaintiff below sought a decree declaring that the defendant, the widow of W.A. Johnson, be limited to an antenuptial agreement attached to the complaint and specifically prayed that the lower court find the defendant "entitled to no dower in said estate, no widow's allowance out of the property of said estate and no rents or profits from the homestead of W.A. Johnson since his death." Her defense to the allegations of the complaint alleged fraud through misrepresentation in the procurement of the instrument and specifically alleged a shocking, unfair and unreasonable relation to the amount to be paid to her, she being unaware of, and not having an opportunity to know, the true value of the estate.

In September of 1949, W.A. Johnson, then 71 years of age, and in poor health, was considering marrying his housekeeper, Mrs. Myrtle Selph, then 35 years of age. She had nursed the first Mrs. W.A. Johnson, and prior to the marriage, was making *359 $15.00 a week. The deceased, several days before his contemplated marriage, had consulted an attorney and told him that he was planning to offer Mrs. Selph a specific amount of money from his estate in lieu of any and all other claims she might have by reason of the contemplated marriage. The attorney had advised the deceased that he could prepare a legal and binding document, provided that the deceased would furnish Mrs. Selph with a statement fully and fairly disclosing all assets. Before the marriage the attorney was instructed to prepare such a statement and also to prepare an agreement. Before he began to prepare the antenuptial agreement, the attorney advised Mrs. Selph that she should have separate counsel. She declined, and the agreement was dictated in the presence of both the defendant and the deceased. In so preparing this document, the attorney explained to Mrs. Selph that she was waiving homestead, dower, and all rights of a married woman as to inheritance or other property rights. According to the testimony, she fully understood the agreement, as well as the property disclosure statement. She testified that she read the agreement together with the property disclosure statement about two months after the marriage, and, she said, discovered things about the agreement that she had not known. The agreement about which this controversy centers provided, in part, as follows:

"That in contemplation of the marriage between the parties to this instrument and for the purpose of making a property settlement between said parties, in the event said marriage should terminate in a divorce, and for the further purpose of barring dower, homestead, widow's support and any and all distributive interest and allowance of all kinds accruing to a surviving wife by virtue of the statutes of the State of Florida, now or hereafter in force, of the estate of a deceased husband, IT IS HEREBY AGREED BETWEEN THE PARTIES HERETO AS FOLLOWS:"

The agreement goes on to provide that in the event of a divorce Mrs. Selph should accept $1000.00 in full settlement of all support money, alimony, and attorneys' fees that might be due her. The agreement then provides:

"3.
"In the event of the death of second party, and if the marriage relationship legally exists between the parties hereto at the time of the death of second party, then the first party, as the surviving widow, shall receive out of the estate of the second party, the sum of TEN THOUSAND ($10,000.00) DOLLARS in lieu of dower, homestead, widow's support and in lieu of all distributive interests and allowances of all kind that might be allowable to her as the surviving widow, under the laws of descent and distributions, homestead rights, widow's election to take dower instead of a child's part, or otherwise, which said sum shall be paid as soon as practical by the executor or administrator of the estate of party of the second part.
"4.
"In addition to the sum of money mentioned in Paragraph 3 of this contract, aforesaid, first party shall have the use and occupancy of the home place now occupied by second party, together with the furniture therein, for so long as she desires, provided, however, that in the event she should remarry, such right of the use and occupancy of such home shall immediately terminate.
"5.
"First party, in consideration of the premises aforesaid, and of the settlement hereby entered into, does hereby forever relinquish all rights of dower, homestead, widow's allowance, and all other right, title and interest that she ordinarily would acquire in the estate of the second party upon his death, and *360 agrees that all of said property may be distributed as fully and completely as if she were no longer the wife of second party."

The agreement was executed by both parties and in the presence of two witnesses. At the same time that the antenuptial agreement was signed, Mrs. Selph also signed what is known as the disclosure statement, which listed each specific item of property, real or personal, that was owned by the deceased, totaling $248,470.00. This disclosure statement was also executed by her in the presence of two witnesses. In this disclosure statement every piece of property that the deceased owned was set out in particular.

At the time of his death, February 25, 1960, the deceased left a will naming the plaintiff as executor and stating in Item Three thereof that the deceased and the defendant prior to their marriage had entered into an antenuptial agreement, as a result of which no provision was made in the will for the widow. On September 13, 1960, the defendant filed an election to take dower, and also filed on September 16 of the same year, a petition in the county judge's court, alleging that she had elected to take dower and prayed that dower be assigned; that she be put in possession of the homestead; and also, requested that plaintiff be required to account to her for all rents and profits on the homestead. On the same date she also filed for a widow's allowance, which was granted. In view of certain jurisdictional aspects of the proceedings in the county judge's court, the plaintiff then filed his complaint for declaratory relief in the circuit court, seeking to determine the validity of the antenuptial agreement.

After evidence was taken the circuit court entered a final decree, which reads, in part, as follows:

"* * * The Court finds that the properties listed on said written statement were the properties which the decedent owned as of said date, and no evidence was adduced to show that the decedent owned other or additional properties of any kind or description as of said date. The values assigned to the properties by the decedent were equal to, and in many cases more than, the true values.

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Related

In re Estate of Macarell
254 So. 2d 240 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1971)
Cantor v. Palmer
166 So. 2d 466 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1964)
Miller v. Miller
151 So. 2d 869 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1963)
Anderson v. Anderson
149 So. 2d 65 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1963)
Guze v. Guze
141 So. 2d 613 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1962)

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Bluebook (online)
140 So. 2d 358, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/johnson-v-johnson-fladistctapp-1962.