In most cases, stocks and brokerage accounts can be garnished by a creditor with a money judgment. However, sometimes a brokerage account may be exempt from garnishment due to federal or state law. Brokerage Garnishment Procedure To garnish a judgment debtor’s stocks or brokerage account, a creditor first files a…
Suppose a person is subject to a relatively small money judgment owed to a credit card company. In this example, the judgment debtor receives monthly child support payments from her ex-husband. She accumulates the child support money in a separate bank account. She wants to know whether the deposited child…
A client wanted to know whether his commissions would be exempt from garnishment as head of household income even though the commissions were paid on a 1099 and the client was considered an independent contractor. What is the Head of Household Exemption? Florida Statute 222.11 exempts from garnishment any earnings…
Can Creditors Take Your Bitcoin and Crypto? In most cases, bitcoin and cryptocurrency can be garnished by judgment creditors. It is a common misconception that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies cannot be garnished. Bitcoin accounts held at U.S. institutions like Coinbase actually can be seized or garnished by a judgment creditor….
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
