Homestead Accounts At Banks

A client sold his homestead and wanted to protect the money in a “homestead account” until he was able to find and purchase a new home. He called me to complain that his bank did not know how to open a “homestead account” and he wanted to know how to protect the sales proceeds. A “homestead account” is a term created through several court decisions; it does not refer to a particular variety of financial account. In the financial world, there is no such animal called a homestead account. Essentially, a homestead account is a personal bank account which is funded exclusively with proceeds from the sale of a Florida homestead.

To open a “homestead account” one can open a regular personal bank account which holds homestead sale proceeds and no other money. The bank probably will let you add the words “homestead account” to the account title or description. However, if you ask a bank about a homestead account, rather than a normal personal account, the bank officer probably will not understand what you are talking about.

Last updated on May 22, 2020