Lopez v. Public Health Trust of Dade County
| Decision Date | 14 July 1987 |
| Docket Number | No. 86-2432,86-2432 |
| Parties | 12 Fla. L. Weekly 1719 Jorge LOPEZ, Appellant, v. PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST OF DADE COUNTY, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Gerald Forman, Miami, for appellant.
Robert A. Ginsburg, Co. Atty., and Shepard J. Nevel, Asst. Co. Atty., for appellee.
Before BARKDULL, HENDRY and NESBITT, JJ.
Nereida Lopez's estate appeals from the probate court's order denying its petition to have the decedent's real property set aside as homestead property. We reverse.
The decedent died on July 30, 1985, owing a large debt to the Public Health Trust (Trust). At the time of her death, decedent owned and resided on the real property which is the subject of this case. Decedent's personal representative filed a petition to have the property set aside as homestead property. The Trust opposed the petition. The personal representative alleged that the decedent's three adult children had resided with her and that one of them was dependent upon her for support. After a hearing, the probate court determined that the decedent's children were not dependent upon her at the time of her death. The trial court denied the petition, and the estate appeals.
Until recently article X, section 4 of the Florida Constitution provided only heads of households with protection from the forced sale of their homesteads to satisfy their debts. See Art. X, § 4, Fla. Const. (1983). In 1984, however, the electorate approved a constitutional amendment which provides protection for a homestead "owned by a natural person." 1 The amended section serves to exempt all homestead property from forced sale for the benefit of the decedent's heirs, regardless of whether the decedent was the head of a household prior to his or her death. Art. X, § 4, Fla. Const. (1985). As such, whether the decedent had dependent heirs at the time of her death is immaterial under the new amendment. See Art. X, § 4(b), Fla. Const. (1985). Once it was established that the decedent owned and resided in the property at the time of her death, her estate was entitled to have the property set aside as homestead. Art. X, § 4(a)(1), Fla. Const. (1985). Consequently, the trial court's order denying Lopez's personal representative's petition to set aside the property as homestead was erroneous. Accordingly, the order under review is reversed.
The amendment to article X, section 4 of the Florida Constitution does not, and was not intended to, affect the underlying purpose of the homestead exemption laws. See Fla. HJR 40 (1983) (proposed); Ch. 83-40, § 4, Laws of Fla.; Fla. HJR 40, Committee on Judiciary, Staff Analysis, (February 8, 1983); see also Wescott v. Wescott, 487 So.2d 1099, 1101 (Fla. 5th DCA), review denied, 494 So.2d 1154 (Fla.1986). The purpose of homestead exemption is to protect a decedent owner's dependent family from the forced sale of the homestead for the debts of the decedent. Tullis v. Tullis, 360 So.2d 375 (Fla.1978); In re Noble's Estate, 73 So.2d 873 (Fla.1954); Hospital Affiliates, Inc. v. McElroy, 393 So.2d 25 (Fla. 3d DCA), review denied, 402 So.2d 611 (Fla.1981). It is not intended to provide the decedent's independent adult heirs with a windfall at the expense of the decedent's creditors. See McElroy, 393 So.2d at 28. The amendment to the section was designed merely to remedy anomalous situations where certain home owners, such as divorced...
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Public Health Trust of Dade County v. Lopez
...for Gessler Clinic, P.A., and Winter Haven Hosp. BARKETT, Justice. We review the conflicting decisions of Lopez v. Public Health Trust of Dade County, 509 So.2d 1286 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987), and In re Estate of Taylor, 516 So.2d 322 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987). In so doing, we answer in the affirmative t......
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Walker v. Mickler, 96-1543
...death, her estate was entitled to have the property set aside as homestead. 531 So.2d at 948, quoting Lopez v. Public Health Trust of Dade County, 509 So.2d 1286-1287 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987). Although the supreme court did not define "heir" in Public Health Trust, it described the broad purpose ......
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Estate of Taylor, In re
...exempt from creditors. We acknowledge our decision is in conflict with the decision in Lopez v. Public Health Trust of Dade County, 509 So.2d 1286 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987) (Nesbitt, J., dissenting). DANAHY, C.J., and SCHOONOVER, J., ...
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Bartelt v. Bartelt, 90-1324
...owner." This exemption dates back to the constitution of 1868.5 Neither the supreme court nor this court in its opinion in Lopez, 509 So.2d 1286 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987), indicated whether the decedent died testate or intestate. Although the language of the decisions would tend to indicate that L......
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