Chambers v. Bringenberg, 309 Neb. 888

Eleanor Chambers purchased a house (the Meadows house) in June 2017 titled solely in her name and lived there until her death on March 3, 2018; her husband David never resided there.
On February 8, 2018, Eleanor executed and recorded a transfer-on-death (TOD) deed naming her daughter Angie Bringenberg as designated beneficiary; David did not sign or acknowledge the TOD deed.
After Eleanor’s death Bringenberg recorded the death certificate and transferred the Meadows house into her name; David (later his estate) sued to quiet title asserting the TOD deed was void under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 40-104 (homestead joinder requirement).
The district court granted partial summary judgment for David, declaring the TOD deed void for lack of David’s signature under § 40-104 and ordered title back to Eleanor’s estate; it did not determine the parties’ ownership interests.
The Nebraska Supreme Court reversed, holding § 40-104 does not apply to TOD deeds under the Nebraska Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act (TODA), and remanded for further proceedings including consideration of Bringenberg’s slander-of-title counterclaim.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Chambers)	Defendant's Argument (Bringenberg)	Held
Whether § 40-104’s spousal-execution/acknowledgment requirement applies to a TOD deed	§ 40-104 bars conveyance/encumbrance of a married person’s homestead unless executed and acknowledged by both spouses; a TOD deed is an instrument conveying real property and thus void without David’s signature	A TOD deed is a nontestamentary, statutory transfer effective only at death (a nonprobate will substitute) and creates no inter vivos conveyance or encumbrance; § 40-104 therefore does not apply	Reversed: § 40-104 does not apply to TOD deeds; TOD deeds take effect at death and are not inter vivos conveyances or encumbrances
Whether homestead status of the Meadows house controls TOD deed validity	The Meadows house was Eleanor’s homestead as a married person, so § 40-104’s joinder rule applies	Even if it were a homestead, TODA governs and TOD deeds remain ineffective until death, so § 40-104 does not govern validity	Court did not resolve homestead status as it was immaterial once § 40-104 was held inapplicable
Whether the district court’s dismissal of Bringenberg’s slander-of-title counterclaim was proper after declaring the TOD deed void	David’s judgment rendered counterclaim moot	If the TOD deed is valid, the counterclaim is live; dismissal premature	Reversed: counterclaim not moot; remanded to consider its merits in light of any estate claims

Mutual of Omaha Bank v. Watson, 297 Neb. 479, 900 N.W.2d 545 (Neb. 2017) (discussing acknowledgment requirements for instruments affecting homestead)
Krueger v. Callies, 190 Neb. 376, 208 N.W.2d 685 (Neb. 1973) (historical precedent on homestead conveyance formalities)
Teske v. Dittberner, 65 Neb. 167, 91 N.W. 181 (Neb. 1902) (test for whether instrument is testamentary vs. inter vivos)
Engen v. Union State Bank, 121 Neb. 257, 236 N.W. 741 (Neb. 1931) (defining homestead as dwelling where family resides; occupancy focus)
Cain v. Bunkley, 35 Miss. 119 (Miss. 1858) (statutory forms prescribing inter vivos conveyances do not control dispositions that take effect after death)