Legal Question in Family Law in Florida

I need legal advice regarding a Marital Settlement Agreement that has a scrivener's error. The divorce was Final in December 2005 and in the settlement agreement the husband was given the primary residence and the wife agreed and signed a quitclaim deed relinnquishing all rights and interest in the real property. The husband was to pay $20,000 to the wife. It is worded the husband assumed all responsibility and liability in the real property by the quit claim deed signed by the wife. Nearly 5 years later the ex-husband lost his job and now the real property is in foreclosure. This foreclosure is including the ex-wife that signed a quit claim deed. The scrivener's error was the fact that the husband should have been required to refinance the real property or sell the real property to remove the wife's name from the mortgage. During the divorce proceedings the wife ask the scrivener (attorney) "by signing this quit claim deed I cannot be held liable if the home goes into foreclousre in the future?" and the scrivener responded the wife had nothing to worry about. NOW the wife is being dragged into a foreclosure and is having her credit destroyed by this error. Is there anything that can be done?


Asked on 2/09/10, 6:24 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Brent Rose The Orsini & Rose Law Firm

That's not a scrivener's error (which is when both parties jointly out in the wrong thing when they clearly meant to put in something else), that's a screw-up. In fact, the "'the person who gets the house has to refinance' being left out of the settlement" is a screw-up that I see just about every day. You can speak to a malpractice lawyer about suing your divorce lawyer, but it sounds like your time may have run out to do that. The other thing you can do is sue your husband. You should speak with a family law attorney about that.

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Answered on 2/14/10, 3:57 pm


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