Can a marital settlement agreement be enforced by a spouse's estate?

In the case of Rachid v. Perez, 26 So.3d 70 (Fla. 3rd DCA 2010) the Court enforced a settlement agreement between a wife and her dead husband's estate regarding the divorce that was pending when the husband died.

The husband and wife were married in 1978 and entered into a prenuptial agreement which provided that the past, present and future property of each spouse would remain the separate property of the respective spouse. In 2006 the husband died while divorce proceedings were pending. The wife sought an elective share of the estate along with other property. The trial court ordered mediation, the parties settled the case and the trial court approved the agreement. When the wife later failed to comply with the terms of the agreement, the personal representative of the estate moved to enforce the settlement. The wife appeared at the hearing and testified that she wanted more time to consult with an attorney and to investigate the settlement and the prenuptial agreement. The court granted the motion to enforce. The wife did not appeal. Instead, she retained new counsel who filed an emergency motion to stay the proceedings, a motion for rehearing and a motion to set aside the order of enforcement. The motions were denied and the wife appealed, seeking rescission of the settlement agreement. The District Court held:

1. "Because her appeal is directed to the order denying her motion for rehearing and a denial of her motion to set aside the order granting the motion to enforce the mediated settlement, the standard of review is gross abuse of discretion."

2. "We additionally note that there is a more stringent standard of review, however, when the final judgment to be vacated follows a mediated settlement agreement."