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…
Florida residents that own real or personal property in other states often wonder whether Florida’s generous exemptions from creditors can be asserted in courts located outside of Florida. For example, suppose a judgment debtor has a judgment entered against him in New York. The debtor lives and works in Florida….
Yes, in most cases, withdrawals or distributions from retirement accounts are protected even after being deposited into a bank account. The protection is dependent on state law. Florida case law protects retirement funds even after being deposited into a bank account. Other states may not afford the same protection to…
In Florida, the primary difference between a revocable trust and an irrevocable trust is that a revocable trust can be amended or revoked during the settlor’s lifetime, while an irrevocable trust cannot. In terms of asset protection, a revocable trust is only rarely used as part of an asset protection…
No, Florida is not a community property state. In a community property state, any assets acquired by either spouse during the marriage are considered marital property and therefore owned by both spouses. In some community property states, even income earned from pre-marital separate property is still considered community property. Instead,…
A creditor’s collection against a debtor’s membership interest in a limited liability company is limited to a charging lien against the debtor’s “transferable interest.” A transferable interest makes the member eligible to receive LLC distributions. The Florida Statutes state that the charging lien is the creditor exclusive remedy against a…
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…
The general rule is that Florida residents cannot export Florida asset exemptions to other states. Therefore, out of state, or “foreign” judgments pose unique risks to judgment debtors living in Florida. Even though the judgment debtor lives in Florida, the judgment creditor could start judgment collection proceedings in the foreign…
A recent client wanted to know if he would lose his homestead protection by temporarily renting out his homestead property to a tenant. In Florida, a judgment debtor’s homestead is absolutely protected from creditors. There is no monetary cap on the amount of the protected homestead, however the protection is…
A recent Florida bankruptcy case, In re De Bauer, examined when a non-citizen, or foreigner, could qualify for the Florida homestead protection. The Florida homestead is one of the most powerful asset protection tools for judgment debtors. The Florida constitution exempts an unlimited amount of equity in a debtor’s homestead,…
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