William G. PALMER, Appellant,
v.
Inez PALMER, Appellee.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District.
Kenneth J. Cotter, P.A., Orlando, for appellant.
Jeff B. Clark, P.A., Orlando, for appellee.
*222 COWART, Judge.
This appeal is from an order granting appellant's motion under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540 for relief from judgment in a dissolution of marriage case.[1] The motion for relief from judgment was filed on January 4, 1985. The judgment in question, entered in 1980, adopted a property settlement agreement. The trial court determined that the ex-wife was not mentally competent to enter into the property settlement agreement, granted her motion for relief, declared the property settlement agreement void and "reopened" the case to consider anew the alimony and property distribution issues. We reverse.
A motion for relief from judgment under rule 1.540(b) must be filed within one year of the judgment, except that a judgment void for lack of jurisdiction can be attacked at anytime. See DeClaire v. Yohanan,
The contract of one who is not mentally competent to contract is not void but voidable. A final judgment adjudicating rights of parties under a voidable contract is not void although under some circumstances the judgment may be successfully attacked by a timely motion under rule 1.540(b). If a court has subject matter jurisdiction and that jurisdiction has been properly invoked by pleadings and properly perfected by service of process, its judgments, although erroneous as to law or fact and subject to reversal on appeal, are nevertheless not void. See DeClaire v. Yohanan,
The motion did not allege, nor do the facts support, the conclusion that the judgment in this case was void for lack of jurisdiction. The motion for relief from judgment should not have been granted.
REVERSED.
DAUKSCH and ORFINGER, JJ., concur.
NOTES
Notes
[1] We have jurisdiction pursuant to Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.130(a)(5).
