A limited liability company does not provide blanket protection against personal liability. According to a recent decision by Florida’s Second District Court of Appeals the managing member of a LLC can be held personal liability for negligent actions without a piercing of the corporate veil. Estate of Canavan v. National…
A client presented today an interesting question which I can not answer with any certainty. The well-established rule under Florida case law is that tenants by entireties property (property owned jointly by husband and wife) is immune from creditors of either spouse individually, but the property is not protected from…
A professional cannot use a corporate shield to protect himself from malpractice. A professional is anyone who under Florida law is required to obtain a license in order to practice their trade. Florida statutes provide for distinct entities engaged in a professional business. These entities are a Professional Corporation or…
I’ve said this many times and to many people, but it needs to be repeated. In 1999, the Florida legislature pased CS/HB 361 amending Florida Statutes 620.8101 to provide, among other things, for limited liability partnerships (LLP) and limited liability limited partnerships (LLLP).
The Spring 2004 edition of the American Bar Associations’s Real Property Journal included an interesting comparison of homestead laws of different states. It is well known that Florida and Texas have the most protective homestead provisions in their state constitutions.
Florida Statute 222.14 protects annuities owned by Florida residents from creditor claims and judgments. Some people have asked whether variable annuities are included under the same statutory protection.
In the case of In re Shilo, Case No. 03-9358, Judge Jenneman issued an Memorandum Opinion which held that a car owned by married couple as husband or wife with rights of survivorship is not legally owned tenants by entireties and is not exempt from the husband’s individual creditors.
Planning to build a home? Many people have asked me whether or not money used to buy a lot where they intend to build a residence is protected. Or, is money paid in advance to a contractor to build a homestead protected under Florida’s homestead provisions exempting homestead property from…
Retirement plans that are established under a body of federal law referred to as ERISA ( Employee Reitement Security Act of 1974) are protected from creditors pursuant to Florida Statute 222.21.
