Financial Affidavit After a Car Accident in Florida

A financial affidavit after a car accident is a document that the injured party’s attorney requests from the at-fault driver or vehicle owner. The affidavit asks the liable party to disclose personal financial information under oath, including income, bank accounts, real estate, investments, and other assets. The injured party’s attorney uses the affidavit to decide whether their client should accept the insurance settlement or pursue a lawsuit seeking damages beyond the policy limits.

Why the Injured Party’s Attorney Requests an Affidavit

The injured party after a car accident faces a choice. They can accept the at-fault driver’s insurance policy limits as full settlement and release all claims, or they can reject the insurance offer and file a lawsuit seeking the full amount of damages from the at-fault driver personally.

The financial affidavit helps the plaintiff’s attorney evaluate whether a lawsuit is worth pursuing. If the affidavit shows that the at-fault driver owns significant non-exempt assets (non-homestead real estate, investment accounts, or business interests), the attorney has an incentive to reject the insurance offer and pursue a larger judgment. If the affidavit shows that the driver’s assets are primarily exempt from collection under Florida law, the attorney is more likely to recommend accepting the insurance payout because a judgment would be difficult or impossible to collect.

The affidavit functions as a settlement tool. A financial picture that shows few collectible assets encourages the plaintiff to settle within insurance limits rather than invest time and money in litigation.

No Legal Obligation to Submit

Florida law does not require an at-fault driver to complete a financial affidavit before a lawsuit is filed. The request comes from the injured party’s attorney, not from a court. There is no statute, rule of civil procedure, or court order that compels pre-suit financial disclosure in a car accident case.

The at-fault driver’s insurance company may forward the request and encourage compliance, but the insurer cannot legally compel the driver to complete the affidavit either. The insurer’s duty-to-cooperate clause in the insurance policy requires the insured to cooperate with the insurer’s investigation and defense, but cooperation does not extend to providing financial information to the opposing party’s attorney before any lawsuit exists.

Refusing to submit the affidavit carries a practical risk. Without financial information, the plaintiff’s attorney may assume the at-fault driver has significant assets and file a lawsuit rather than settle within policy limits. Whether this risk outweighs the risk of disclosure depends on the driver’s actual financial situation.

What the Affidavit Asks

There is no standardized financial affidavit form for car accident cases in Florida. Each plaintiff’s law firm uses its own version, but most request the same categories of information.

The affidavit typically asks for monthly income from all sources, including wages, salary, business income, and rental income. A plaintiff who obtains a judgment can garnish the defendant’s disposable wages under Florida’s garnishment statute, unless the defendant qualifies for the head of household exemption.

Bank account balances at all financial institutions are a standard disclosure item. Bank accounts are vulnerable to post-judgment garnishment writs, but accounts titled as tenants by the entirety between spouses are protected from individual judgments against one spouse.

Real property disclosures include the primary residence and any investment or rental properties. The primary residence is protected by Florida’s homestead exemption up to an unlimited value on a qualifying lot. Non-homestead real property has no exemption and is fully exposed to judgment liens.

The affidavit requests a list of all motor vehicles, boats, motorcycles, and recreational vehicles. Florida provides a $1,000 motor vehicle exemption under § 222.25(1), which protects minimal value. Vehicles worth more than $1,000 are exposed to creditor collection.

Investment disclosures cover stocks, bonds, mutual funds, brokerage accounts, and certificates of deposit. Non-retirement investment accounts have no statutory exemption and are fully collectible. Retirement accounts are exempt from creditor claims under both federal and Florida law.

Business interest disclosures include ownership in corporations, partnerships, LLCs, and sole proprietorships. A single-member LLC interest is directly reachable by a judgment creditor, while multi-member LLC interests are protected by the charging order limitation.

Life insurance cash surrender values and annuity contracts are also requested. Florida law exempts the cash value of life insurance policies and annuity proceeds from creditor claims, making these among the safest asset categories to disclose.

Trust disclosures cover any trust in which the driver is a beneficiary or settlor. Assets held in a properly structured irrevocable trust are not the driver’s personal property and are not reachable by the driver’s creditors, provided the trust includes spendthrift and discretionary distribution provisions.

Finally, the affidavit asks about recent asset transfers made since the date of the accident. The plaintiff’s attorney reviews recent transfers to identify potential fraudulent transfers that could be reversed.

The Strategic Decision

The decision to complete or decline the financial affidavit depends on the relationship between the driver’s actual asset exposure and the insurance policy limits.

Disclosure helps when a driver’s assets are primarily exempt—homestead property, retirement accounts, entireties-owned marital assets, and exempt insurance products. The affidavit demonstrates that even a successful lawsuit would produce a judgment that is difficult or impossible to collect. The plaintiff’s attorney, recognizing the collection obstacles, is more likely to settle within the insurance policy limits.

Disclosure hurts when a driver owns significant non-exempt assets such as non-homestead real estate, individual brokerage accounts, single-member LLC interests, or large cash balances in individually titled bank accounts. Revealing these assets signals to the plaintiff’s attorney that a judgment beyond insurance limits would be collectible, creating an incentive to litigate rather than settle.

Many drivers have a mix of exempt and non-exempt assets, and the answer is not immediately clear. For these individuals, the correct sequence is to evaluate their asset protection posture, implement available protections, and then decide whether to submit the affidavit.

Protecting Assets Before Submitting

The financial affidavit is a snapshot of the driver’s financial situation at the time of signing. Asset protection measures implemented before signing the affidavit will be reflected in the document. Several asset protection strategies are available even after a car accident has occurred, provided they do not constitute fraudulent transfers.

Converting non-exempt assets into exempt assets is permissible under Florida law. Paying down a mortgage on homestead property with non-exempt cash reduces the amount of collectible assets without constituting a fraudulent transfer because the homestead exemption has no value cap. Contributing additional funds to exempt retirement accounts (up to annual contribution limits) moves assets into a protected category.

Retitling individually owned marital assets as tenants by the entirety protects those assets from an individual judgment against the at-fault spouse. The retitling must occur before any judgment is entered, and both spouses must be alive and married at the time of the transfer.

The affidavit is signed under oath. Every statement must be truthful. The driver cannot omit assets, understate values, or misrepresent ownership. Implementing legitimate asset protection before signing allows the driver to present an accurate affidavit that reflects a protected financial posture rather than a vulnerable one.

After the Affidavit Is Submitted

If the plaintiff’s attorney reviews the affidavit and determines that the driver’s assets are predominantly exempt, the typical outcome is a settlement within or near the insurance policy limits. The plaintiff accepts the insurance payout, signs a release, and the matter concludes without litigation.

If the plaintiff’s attorney concludes that collectible assets exist beyond insurance, they may reject the insurance offer and file a lawsuit. Once a lawsuit is filed, the plaintiff gains access to formal discovery tools, including interrogatories, requests for production, and depositions, that require disclosure of financial information far more detailed than what any pre-suit affidavit requests. At that stage, the defendant must provide the information under court rules, and the question of whether to submit a voluntary affidavit becomes moot.

The practical reality is that most car accident claims settle within insurance limits. Plaintiff’s attorneys evaluate the time, cost, and uncertainty of litigation against the guaranteed insurance payout. A financial affidavit that shows a well-protected financial posture tips this calculation toward settlement.