Another recent case points up the often misunderstood rules surrounding homestead issues. In this case, a husband died, leaving his homestead in the name of his trust. He was survived by his wife. His wife never signed a waiver of homestead rights.
Under Florida law, a spouse generally cannot be disinherited from the marital homestead unless the spouse waives homestead protection. Because the wife did not waive homestead protection in this case, ownership of the home therefore passed to the wife when the husband died. In other words, the fact that the trust held deed ownership of the home was irrelevant. (Where kids are involved, as in this case, the surviving spouse receives a life estate in the home, with the kids as ultimate heirs.)
A further observation discussed by the court: because the trust does not own the property, the trust is not liable to pay taxes, insurance or other expenses related to the property.
One lesson from this case is that the words of the documents are not always determinative. The law sometimes trumps what is written!
