Zakoor v. Zakoor
| Decision Date | 14 October 1970 |
| Docket Number | No. 69--720,69--720 |
| Citation | 240 So.2d 193 |
| Parties | William G. ZAKOOR, Appellant, v. Nancy P. ZAKOOR, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Perry W. Lewis, Detroit, Mich., for appellant.
J. I. Watson and S. Sherman Weiss, Hollywood, for appellee.
The plaintiff-appellee, Nancy P. Zakoor, filed a complaint for divorce in the Circuit Court for Broward County, Florida, in April of 1967. The complaint charged that her husband, the defendant-appellant, William G. Zakoor, was guilty of extreme cruelty. The complaint sought a divorce custody of the three children of the parties and alimony.
The appellant states the various points on appeal in detailed fashion; however, the point on appeal simply stated is whether or not the trial judge erred in construing a property settlement agreement between the parties as an agreement providing only for child support and custody and awarding payments to the wife inconsistent with that agreement.
On 9 April 1969, before the entry of the final decree, the plaintiff filed a motion entitled 'Motion To Amend Property Settlement Agreement'. It alleged that plaintiff and defendant entered into a property settlement agreement on 10 April 1967, but charged that the agreement was entered into by the plaintiff at a time when she was unaware that her husband held certain assets which he failed to disclose to her and that to enforce the agreement would be a fraud upon her and her children. The motion was apparently based on the bare assertion that the property settlement agreement was fraudulent in that '* * * the plaintiff wife was unaware that the defendant husband held these assets; that there was a failure to disclose them by him * * *.' The defendant filed an answer in which he stated that his wife was aware of all of his assets at the time the property settlement was entered into.
The property settlement agreement between the parties was introduced in evidence by the defendant at the final hearing on 12 September 1969. In essence it provides that the husband should convey to the wife by a warranty deed, subject to existing mortgage and taxes, all of his interest in the parties' residence located at Hallandale, Florida, together with furniture, furnishings, and fixtures contained in the house. The agreement also provides that the wife shall have custody of the minor children and receive $500.00 per month for their support. The defendant was obligated to pay J. I. Watson, the wife's attorney, $500.00 immediately upon signing the agreement. In return for the foregoing the wife agreed to release the husband from any obligation for alimony, support, attorney's fees, court costs, and suit money. The agreement also stated that it was in full settlement of all joint property rights. Paragraphs 6 and 7 of the agreement read as follows:
(Emphasis added.)
At the final hearing Mrs. Zakoor's attorney stated that he was paid the $500.00 called for by the property settlement agreement. Mrs. Zakoor's attorney also admitted that there was a property settlement agreement executed between the parties on 10 April 1967, but he stated that after Mrs. Zakoor realized that the property settlement agreement did not provide anything for her she indicated that she could not accept it.
The plaintiff's testimony indicates that she was thirty-five at the time of the final hearing and had been married to the defendant for fifteen years. She testified that the monies which 'she and her husband have' came from his working and 'we saving'. She indicated that she never worked before their separation and said that she understood her husband inherited $20,000.00. She testified to expenses for herself and children totaling approximately $597.00 per month. Mrs. Zakoor testified that she works three days a week as a cocktail waitress at the Diplomat Hotel and earns $5.05 in wages, but gets tips which make her income average approximately $15.00 per day. She testified that she has ability as a typist and at one time earned up to $65.00 per week as a secretary. She gave no testimony as to the extent of her knowledge of her husband's property at the time she executed the property settlement agreement, other than her reference to what she understood her husband had inherited.
There was no testimony by either party that would justify a finding that at the time the property settlement was executed it was not made in good faith. There was no testimony indicating any misrepresentations by Mr. Zakoor or any undue advantage taken by him. It appears from the record, and particularly the comments by Mrs. Zakoor's attorney at the opening of the hearing, that he prepared the agreement and represented Mrs. Zakoor at the time it was prepared and signed.
The final decree was dated 1 October 1969 and did the following:
(a) granted Mrs. Zakoor v. Divorce;
(b) construed the property settlement agreement between the parties as an agreement providing for child support and custody, But not as a settlement of the property rights of the parties;
(c) gave the plaintiff possession of the family home and ordered the defendant to pay one-half of the principal and interest payments on the mortgage encumbering the home place together with one-half of the taxes, insurance, and necessary maintenance and repairs and any special assessments or improvement liens now or hereafter encumbering the property 'so long as said home is jointly owned by the parties and used as a residence for the rearing of the children of the parties';
(d) required the defendant to pay the plaintiff $500.00 per month for child support with certain provisions for diminution upon attainment of independence by the children;
(e) required the defendant to pay the plaintiff the sum of $15,000.00 in cash and in addition to transfer to the plaintiff 150 shares of Associated Drygoods stock or, in lieu of transferring the stock, pay the plaintiff an additional $6,600.00 in cash;
(f) required the defendant to pay the plaintiff's attorney $500.00 as additional attorney's fees plus $61.00 in costs;
(g) required the defendant to pay a $3,200.00 encumbrance on a Buick automobile which the...
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Petracca v. Petracca
...court, this court had occasion to address the validity of postnuptial agreements in a number of cases. For example in Zakoor v. Zakoor, 240 So.2d 193 (Fla. 4th DCA 1970), we upheld such an agreement. In reversing the trial court's decision invalidating the agreement, we concluded that the w......
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Hahn v. Hahn, 84-473
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