In re Estate of Johnson
Iowa Supreme Court
739 N.W.2d 493 (2007)
Ron (Roy) Johnson and his wife Emogene (plaintiff) held their home as joint tenants with survivorship rights; after Emogene suffered a stroke, the family decided she should transfer her interest to Roy, and in 1999 she executed a power of attorney letting her daughter Janice convey it on her behalf via quitclaim deed. Roy died in December 1999, survived by Emogene and their three children, and their daughter Beverly (defendant) was named executor of Roy's estate; Emogene, as surviving spouse, elected to take against Roy's will. The district court found Emogene's transfer invalid because she was incompetent when she executed the power of attorney, but concluded Roy had nonetheless unilaterally severed the joint tenancy by conveying his own interest to himself, creating a tenancy in common that split title between Emogene and Roy's estate; Emogene appealed but died during the appeal, with her son named as her estate's executor.
Whether a joint tenant can unilaterally sever a joint tenancy in a homestead by conveying his own interest to himself, when the underlying deed attempting that self-conveyance is itself invalid because the other spouse's participation (required by the homestead statute) was procured through an incompetent power of attorney.