## Facts

- Olga Kuhnreich died in 2007, leaving a 2004 will; she had no surviving spouse and no children.
- Kuhnreich’s primary residence in Delray Beach, Florida was her homestead.
- Article Three made specific dispositions, including:
  - An outright devise of a West Palm Beach condominium to named devisees.
  - Multiple fixed cash gifts expressly payable “from the sale of” the Delray Beach residence to five named individuals.
  - A clause providing that if listed property was not owned at death, the bequest would lapse.
- Article Four, titled “Homestead or Primary Residence,” devised Kuhnreich’s interest in her homestead/primary residence “that passes through this Will” to the persons “named” to receive it equally, “after all estate taxes, debts are satisfied.”
- The personal representative sought judicial construction of the will as to how the Delray Beach residence should be handled under Articles Three and Four; the parties stipulated the court would decide from the will’s text alone.
- The circuit court construed the will to require sale of the Delray Beach residence, payment of Article Three cash gifts from the proceeds, and equal distribution of remaining net proceeds (after taxes and debts) to Gladys Pajares and Conchita Donahue.
- Pajares appealed, arguing the residence retained protected homestead status and should pass to her and Donahue without being used to fund Article Three bequests or pay administration items such as taxes and debts.

## Issues

1. Whether the will’s language sufficiently expressed intent to sell the decedent’s homestead and treat it as an estate asset available to satisfy specific bequests, estate taxes, and debts, rather than as constitutionally protected homestead passing outside administration.

## Decision

- The Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed the circuit court’s construction of the will.
- The court held the will contained specific language directing that the homestead be sold and the proceeds divided, causing the residence to lose protected homestead status for purposes of the testamentary plan.
- The court approved treating the Delray Beach residence as part of the estate to be sold, with proceeds applied first to Article Three cash bequests and then (after taxes and debts) distributed equally to Pajares and Donahue under Article Four.

## Legal Principles

- A testator’s intent is determined from the four corners of the will when extrinsic evidence is not presented; courts must give effect to intent as expressed in the document.
- Clear testamentary language directing sale of a homestead and allocation of sale proceeds as part of the overall distribution scheme can permit the homestead to be administered and distributed under the will rather than treated as protected homestead.
- Express linkage of specific cash bequests to “the sale of” the residence, together with a clause making distribution to named recipients contingent on payment of estate taxes and debts, supports construing the homestead as an estate asset subject to administration.

## Conclusion

Because the will expressly tied multiple cash bequests to the sale of the decedent’s homestead and directed equal distribution to named devisees only after taxes and debts, the appellate court affirmed an interpretation requiring sale of the homestead and use of the proceeds to carry out the will’s distribution plan.


Pajares v. Donahue, 33 So. 3d 700 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 4th Dist. 2010)