Vanessa Lea Williams A/K/A Vannessa Lea Williams v. Eric Allen Williams

── Vanessa Lea Williams A/K/A Vannessa Lea Williams v. Eric Allen Williams ── Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida Date: June 03, 2026 Category: General DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA FOURTH DISTRICT VANESSA LEA WILLIAMS, Appellant/Cross-Appellee, v. ERIC ALLEN WILLIAMS, Appellee/Cross-Appellant. No. 4D2025-0728 [June 3, 2026] Appeal and cross-appeal from the Circuit Court for the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, St. Lucie County; Anastasia M. Norman, Judge; L.T. Case No. 562023DR000864AXXXHC. Chet Eliot Weinbaum of The Law Office of Chet E. Weinbaum, P.A., Fort Pierce, for appellant/cross-appellee. Troy Klein, West Palm Beach, for appellee/cross-appellant. GROSS, J. We address multiple issues raised by the parties in this appeal and cross-appeal from an amended final judgment of dissolution of marriage entered after a trial. We affirm the trial court’s determination that a residence titled in the wife’s name was marital property subject to equitable distribution. We reverse four aspects of the final judgment as set forth below. Facts Regarding the Marital Home and the Informal Mortgage The parties married in 1997. Their only child was emancipated prior to this proceeding. In 2011, during the marriage, the parties jointly purchased a home from Jacqueline Leavitt. The wife worked for Leavitt “for many years.” In exchange for the home, Leavitt received an “informal mortgage” of $75,000. The debt was memorialized by a Deed of Trust Note signed by the husband and the wife in 2011. Entered into evidence at trial, the Note required the parties to pay Leavitt and her husband $75,000 plus 4% interest in 20 annual installments of $5,400 beginning on April 1, 2012. However, both parties testified that no payment had ever been made to Leavitt on this loan. The home was worth about $430,000 at the time of the 2024 trial. Prior Divorce Action: Quitclaim Deed Transfer to Wife, Marital Settlement Agreement, and Dismissal Due to Reconciliation The parties’ first divorce action began in 2015 but was dismissed in 2017 due to the parties’ reconciliation. In April 2016, during the pendency of the first divorce action, the husband and wife jointly executed a quitclaim deed conveying the home to the wife alone. The parties later executed a corrective quitclaim deed to correct the property’s legal description. During a 2016 mediation, the wife’s attorney informed Leavitt about the divorce action and where to send a demand letter for the $75,000 debt. This discussion prompted Leavitt to send the parties a demand letter for repayment of the note. In January 2017, the parties entered into a Marital Settlement Agreement (“MSA”), which was approved by the circuit court. The MSA stated that the home “is the sole property belonging to Wife.” The MSA further provided that, “[u]pon the sale of said real property,” the net proceeds would be distributed for the satisfaction of mortgages; if any balance existed, then $10,000 would be paid to the husband, with the remainder of any proceeds from the sale going to the wife. The parties later reconciled and filed a joint voluntary stipulation of dismissal, bringing the first divorce action to a close. After the reconciliation, the parties never took any action to invalidate the 2016 quitclaim deed. This Divorce Action The Pleadings In 2023, the husband filed a petition for dissolution of marriage, which included a request for equitable distribution of the parties’ marital assets 2 and liabilities. The wife’s answer sought no affirmative relief other than an order dissolving the marriage and an award of attorney’s fees and costs. Joint Pretrial Statement In a joint pretrial statement, the parties agreed that no suppor