Judgment debtors often discover that a creditor’s judgment includes substantial amounts of money accrued or incurred after the court issued the judgment. These post-judgment charges can include attorneys fees awarded to the creditor’s attorney. Florida law authorizes a court to award attorneys fees where either a Florida statute provides for attorneys fees in certain legal…
One of our clients is concerned about his personal liability as the beneficiary of a land trust. The client owns several rental properties in various Florida counties. The client wanted to protect confidentiality of his property ownership, and for that reason he took purchased each property in the name of a separate Florida land trust….
Irrevocable trusts provide excellent asset protection for trust beneficiaries. Protection is codified in Florida statutes. Florida statute protect a beneficiary’s interests in irrevocable trusts that are either spendthrift trusts or discretionary trust. Florida statutes states that a a creditor cannot reach or force assignment of a debtor’s beneficial interest in a spendthrift trust. A spendthrift…
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…
In general, personal property acquired jointly by spouses in Florida is presumed to be owned as tenants by entireties. However, the rules can get tricky when it comes to opening a tenants by entireties bank account. There are many instances of people who incorrectly believed they had established exempt joint marital bank accounts and later…
Credit card debt is a primary factor leading to personal bankruptcy in Florida. Consumers facing job loss or medical bills often find themselves indebted to several credit card companies. These credit card creditors typically act aggressively to collect unpaid credit card bills. They may contract with professional debt collectors or file lawsuits against their credit…
A client wanted to know if his employee benefits would be subject to a garnishment. Most judgment debtors do not qualify for a head of household exemption from continuing garnishment of salary and wages provided by Florida Statutes. This particular client asked about whether certain forms of compensation from his employer were outside the scope…
We had married clients recently who suffered from catastrophic medical debt. Several years ago the wife was admitted to a hospital to treat a rare medical condition. The husband and wife had an medical insurance policy offered under the Affordable Care Act. The wife eventually recovered, but the hospital bill was over $250,000. The clients…
Suppose a husband and wife own personal property, a bank account for example, jointly with rights of survivorship in a state that does not recognize tenants by entireties ownership of personal property, and they intend to move to Florida. Florida recognizes tenants by entireties of personal property, and under Florida law all personal property owned by married…
Piercing the corporate veil refers to the creditor tactic where a creditor with a judgment against a business pierces the corporation and transfers the judgment to the individual owners. Many business owners are worried that their creditors will pierce the corporate veil, putting their family’s assets at risk. One of the most important functions of a…
