Garnishment

Florida Statute 222.11 prohibits a creditor from garnishing the earnings of a debtor who qualifies as head of household. Florida residents working in another state are unable to enforce this garnishment exemptions in foreign state courts because the law does not permit debtors to export Florida’s exemptions. But, is the reverse also true? Can the…

Under tenants by entireties law, a joint account between married couples is protected from garnishment resulting from a separate judgment against just one of the spouses. But what if the joint account is not tenants by entireties? Or, what if the account is jointly owned between unmarried family members (such as parent and child)? When…

If a judgment creditor obtains a writ of garnishment against a bank all of a judgment debtor’s  accounts at the bank will be frozen until a court orders the money to be turned over to the creditor. The judgment debtor may raise objections and defenses to the garnishment based upon the ownership of the account…

Florida law exempts from garnishment earning paid to a debtor who is head of household. Head of household means that the debtor provides most of the support for another person whom the debtor is legally obligated to support. Taxpayers claim as a tax dependent people whom they financially support. Usually, a head of household also…

Several courts have held that a judgment creditor may not garnish a debtor’s bank account located in another state when the bank has no Florida branches. In February, 2019, a U.S. federal court reached the same conclusion, but in this case, the court gave the creditor additional time and options to get the debtor’s money….

Our client is the beneficiary of a life insurance policy on her husband’s life. The husband owns the policy. The client has a large civil judgment. The husband died, and the wife filed a claim with the life insurance company. The insurance company delivered a check for the insurance proceeds to our client, and the…

I have a client who lives in Florida where he works as a w-2 employee of a company located outside of Florida. The employer has no offices or retail locations in Florida. A creditor sued my client in a Florida court and obtained a Florida judgment. The creditor then domesticated the judgment in the foreign…

Judgment debtors may want to open bank accounts at banks located exclusively outside of Florida in order to deter garnishment of their bank accounts after a judgment is entered. It is more expensive and time consuming for a creditor to transfer its Florida judgment to another state so that the foreign state’s court issue a…

Clients planning for asset protection sometimes debate whether they should work as an employee or as an independent contractor. Employee wages are subject to a continuing wage garnishment, but the Florida Statute 222.11 clearly exempts wages paid to one who is head of household. Payments to independent contractors may be garnished, but garnishment is more…