## Facts

- Roy N. Johnson and his wife, Emogene F. Johnson, bought their home and held title as joint tenants with right of survivorship; the property served as their homestead.
- In 1998, Emogene suffered a stroke, and the family later decided Emogene should transfer her homestead interest to Roy based on the expectation that Roy would outlive her.
- Emogene executed a power of attorney naming her daughter Janice to act for her regarding the conveyance.
- Acting under the power of attorney, Janice signed a quitclaim deed on Emogene’s behalf. The deed stated that “Roy and Emogene, as husband and wife,” conveyed all interests in the homestead to Roy.
- Roy died in December 1999, survived by Emogene and their three children. Their daughter Beverly Johnson Algoe became executor of Roy’s estate.
- Emogene elected to take against Roy’s will, and litigation followed over the effect of the quitclaim deed on title to the homestead.
- The district court held the deed did not validly convey Emogene’s interest because Emogene lacked capacity when the power of attorney was executed and because the conveyance failed to satisfy Iowa homestead requirements.
- Even so, the district court concluded Roy had severed the joint tenancy by conveying his own interest to himself through the deed, thereby converting the ownership into a tenancy in common between Emogene and Roy’s estate.
- Emogene appealed. She died during the appeal, and her son, William H. Johnson, as executor of Emogene’s estate, was substituted as appellant.

## Issues

1. Whether a joint tenant can sever a joint tenancy in homestead property through a unilateral conveyance to himself when the deed is void and ineffective.
2. Whether a deed that fails to validly convey the non-signing spouse’s homestead interest can nevertheless terminate the survivorship feature based on the signing spouse’s stated intent to end the joint tenancy.
3. Whether title to the homestead passed entirely to the surviving spouse by right of survivorship or was divided between the survivor and the decedent’s estate as tenants in common.

## Decision

- The Iowa Supreme Court reversed and remanded.
- The court agreed the quitclaim deed was void and ineffective as to Emogene’s interest because the power of attorney could not support a valid conveyance and the transaction did not satisfy statutory homestead requirements.
- The court rejected the district court’s conclusion that the void deed still severed the joint tenancy as to Roy’s interest.
- The court held that a void deed cannot sever a joint tenancy; expressed intent to sever is not enough without a legally effective instrument.
- Because the joint tenancy was never severed, the homestead remained in joint tenancy until Roy’s death.
- Upon Roy’s death, full title vested in Emogene by right of survivorship, so the homestead did not become part of Roy’s probate estate.

## Legal Principles

- Joint tenancy includes a right of survivorship; if the joint tenancy is not severed during the parties’ lifetimes, the surviving joint tenant takes full title at the other joint tenant’s death.
- A joint tenant may sever a joint tenancy only through a legally effective act; intent alone does not change the form of title.
- A deed that is void—rather than merely defective in a minor way—cannot operate to sever a joint tenancy.
- Conveyances of homestead property are governed by statute and require compliance with statutory consent and formalities; courts will not allow severance doctrine to accomplish indirectly what homestead law prevents directly.
- A power of attorney used to convey a principal’s homestead interest must be valid and must satisfy applicable statutory requirements for the conveyance the agent attempts to make.

## Conclusion

The Iowa Supreme Court held that the quitclaim deed, void under Iowa homestead and capacity rules, could not sever Roy and Emogene Johnson’s joint tenancy, so the joint tenancy and survivorship right remained in place until Roy’s death, when full title to the homestead vested in Emogene rather than passing through Roy’s estate.


In re Estate of Johnson, 739 N.W.2d 493 (Iowa 2007)