ALBERT RALPH ISAACS, etc. v. FEDERAL NATIONAL MORTGAGE ASSOCIATION, etc., 373 So.3d 1172

Albert Isaacs and his wife purchased a residence in 1974 as husband and wife; they later separated in the 1980s.
Isaacs continued to visit and support the household but in 1999 bought and declared a different property as his homestead and executed a quitclaim conveying his interest in the 1974 property to his wife.
In 2005 the wife executed an $89,000 mortgage on the 1974 property; the mortgage contains a signature purporting to be Isaacs’ signature (Isaacs later disputed forgery).
The wife died around 2016; the probate court determined the 1974 property was her homestead and it descended to Isaacs as surviving spouse.
Fannie Mae foreclosed on the mortgage; it argued Isaacs’ prior abandonment and separate homestead meant his joinder in the mortgage was not required. The trial court agreed, entering a final foreclosure judgment.
On appeal, the court held that under the post-1985 constitutional homestead definition a non-owner spouse’s prior abandonment does not waive the spousal-joinder requirement in article X, section 4(c); the foreclosure judgment was reversed and remanded.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Fannie Mae)	Defendant's Argument (Isaacs)	Held
Whether a non-owner spouse’s separation, departure, and establishment of a new permanent residence before a mortgage waives the constitutional spousal-joinder requirement for a married homestead owner under art. X, § 4(c)	Isaacs abandoned the homestead before the mortgage, so his joinder was not required	Under the 1985 amendment, homestead is defined by ownership/residence of a natural person; because the property was the wife’s homestead when she mortgaged it, spousal joinder was required regardless of Isaacs’ prior abandonment	The court held abandonment does not waive the spousal-joinder requirement; joinder was required and the prior ruling was reversed (court follows In re Scholtz)

In re Scholtz, 543 So. 2d 219 (Fla. 1989) (holding post-1985 homestead definition protects surviving spouse’s homestead rights despite prior abandonment)
Taylor v. Maness, 941 So. 2d 559 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006) (standard of review and interpretation of spousal joinder requirement)
Crawford v. Federal National Mortgage Ass’n, 266 So. 3d 1274 (Fla. 5th DCA 2019) (explaining spousal joinder requirement to alienate homestead)
Clemons v. Thornton, 993 So. 2d 1054 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008) (confirming both spouses must join to alienate homestead)
In re Estate of Boyd, 519 So. 2d 692 (Fla. 4th DCA 1988) (applying post-1985 homestead definition to reject abandonment as forfeiture of homestead rights)
Beltran v. Kalb, 63 So. 3d 783 (Fla. 3d DCA 2011) (discussing the 1985 amendment’s broadened homestead definition)