Divorce Settlement Survives Death
Wednesday, March 15th, 2017
The Tennessee Court of Appeals recently tackled a common post-divorce problem: what happens when one spouse doesn’t sign that quit-claim deed they promised to sign? If a divorce involves the transfer of real estate, it is crucial that the spouse giving up their interest in the property sign a quit-claim deed and record it at the Register of Deeds’ office. Otherwise, they still own part of the property. This case added one more wrinkle: the spouse keeping the property died before the quit-claim was recorded.
The parties’ separation agreement was to give wife the jointly owned house and an IRA, and husband certain other assets. Unfortunately, wife passed away before husband signed the quit-claim deed necessary to transfer his interest in the house to her.
With wife dead, husband hoped to keep the house for himself, instead of allowing wife’s heirs to take it though probate. He claimed that his own failure to record the quit-claim deed was a rescission of the separation agreement, thus giving him ownership of the house and the IRA as the surviving spouse.
The appeals court held that the husband could not rescind the separation agreement due to his own refusal to perform his part of the agreement. The court enforced the separation agreement, even though wife had died. The court came to an equitable result. To avoid these types of problems, ensure that all the relevant documents are signed when you finalize your divorce. Stone & Hinds’ attorneys will ensure that your separation is completed properly. Call us for your divorce and estate planning needs.