The Florida legislature thankfully has made it more difficult for a spouse to “accidentally” waive their homestead rights through vaguely worded or boilerplate deeds. Typically, constitutionally protected homestead rights only are waived in antenuptial agreements. However, those rights technically could be waived in any valid written contract, including a deed. Because prior cases had held that signing a deed with broader language than you knew could constitute a waiver, new statute F.S. 732.7025 now requires the following language to appear in a deed if it is to constitute a waiver of homestead: “By executing or joining this deed, I intend to waive homestead rights that would otherwise prevent my spouse from devising the homestead property described in this deed to someone other than me.” This is a welcome change.

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