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…
Many clients who have established a business as a corporation, or even better, as a limited liability company are worried that their creditors who obtain a judgment will be able to pierce the corporation and attack their personal assets. This creditor tactic is referred to as piercing the corporate veil. One of the most important functions of…
Florida law exempts many assets from execution by a judgment creditor including intangible personal property including life insurance and annuities. Section 222.14 of the Florida statutes exempts cash value life insurance, annuities and annuity proceeds that were issued to citizens or residents of Florida. Most other states do not exempt these assets from creditor garnishment….
Some new clients have told me they have not made a will or a testamentary trust because they had assumed their spouse would automatically inherit all their individual property. These people misunderstand Florida law. Florida law entitles a surviving spouse rights in some, but not all, of a decedent’s property. A surviving spouse will inherit…
One of our clients asked us whether he could protect his investment in a newly purchased luxury car by taking title to the car in a “car trust.” The client had found an online article written by an attorney stating that a car trust would protect from judgment creditors vehicles titled in the name of…
Existing Laws on Florida Homestead Protection and Fraudulent Conveyance It is well-settled Florida law that the purchase or improvement of a Florida homestead cannot be set aside as a fraudulent conveyance. The Florida Supreme Court in Havoco v. Hill said that a creditor cannot reverse a judgment debtor’s payments made toward a homestead property even…
Florida has enacted a statute specifically dealing with single member limited liability companies. The statute authorizes single member LLCs. The statute includes creditor remedies to collect a judgment from a debtor’s membership interest in the debtor’s single member LLC. Generally, a judgment creditor’s sole remedy against multi-member LLCs is limited to a charging order. The…
