Weaver v. Hatfield

Summary

The Florida First District Court of Appeal affirmed the denial of Kip Anthony Weaver’s petition to determine the homestead status of real property. The court held that Weaver’s warranty deed expressly waived his marital and homestead interests under section 732.702(1), Florida Statutes, allowing his wife to convey the property during her lifetime to her brother. The court also concluded that section 732.7025, concerning devises of homestead property, did not apply to the lifetime conveyance.

Holdings

1. A written warranty deed expressly releasing all marital and homestead interests in the property constitutes a sufficiently specific waiver of homestead rights under section 732.702(1), Florida Statutes.
2. Section 732.7025 does not apply to the lifetime conveyance at issue because it restricts devises of homestead, and the conveyance to Hatfield was not a devise.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Kip Weaver's 2019 warranty deed constituted a valid waiver of his marital and homestead rights under section 732.702(1), Florida Statutes.
2. Whether section 732.7025, Florida Statutes, restricted Carolyn Weaver's lifetime conveyance of the property to Rufus Hatfield.
3. Whether the circuit court properly denied Weaver's petition to determine homestead status.

Disposition

affirmed