Is Florida a debtor state?
Yes, Florida is a debtor-friendly state. Florida has the strongest homestead exemption in the entire country. In addition, Florida's tenants by entireties exemption allows a married debtor to protect joint assets from separate debt.
If you do not claim the homestead exemption described above, you have the right to claim a personal property exemption of up to $4,000 per person. Unless the judgment creditor has a lien or security interest in the property (for example, a furniture loan), you can protect up to $4,000 of your personal belongings.
The FCCPA requires all debt collectors, including those located out-of-state, to be registered with the state of Florida. Those who are exempt from registration include, among others: original creditors.
The statute of limitations for debt in Florida is five years. A creditor has five years to sue you for the money you owe. Most debts are based on written agreements, and the statute of limitations period for contract actions is five years.
In fact, some creditors may (illegally) threaten to do just this. But in fact, in Florida, a judgment creditor cannot take your house.
Florida statutory exemptions protect certain assets of a debtor from being seized by creditors to satisfy a judgment. Notable exemptions include the homestead exemption, which protects the debtor's primary residence regardless of value, personal property up to $1,000, and wages of a head of family.
Pension plans (401k), IRAs, and other retirement accounts are exempt from creditors under federal and Florida law. The protection has the added benefit of tax-deferred growth. Business owners should consult with a financial advisor or an accountant to determine what type of retirement plan is available.
If they can't reach you to deal with the debt, they may decide to sue you. If they win the court case, they can get a court judgment to garnish your wages, take money from your bank account, or put a lien on any property you owe.
A debt collector ultimately could garnish your bank account or your wages if you live in Florida. The first thing they would need to do is file a lawsuit against you for the debt, once they obtained a judgment, they can record that judgment and proceed with debt collection.
When the financial institution receives a garnishment order they will freeze the money in your account. This can be all the money in the account if the garnishment order specifies an amount equal or greater than what the bank holds.
How long can you legally be chased for a debt in Florida?
The statute of limitations on debt in Florida is five years for most debts. This means that creditors and debt collectors only have five years to sue you for a debt connected to a credit card, medical services, auto loan, student loan, mortgage, or personal loan.
The statute of limitations in Florida on debt is five years.
This means that once the five-year timeline has expired, creditors can no longer file a lawsuit against the borrower to try and recover the debt. This is only true of debts that include a written agreement, though.
Typically, after 10 years of not paying debt, the statute of limitations will have passed. This means that while you technically still owe the debt, debt collectors may try to collect it, but they typically cannot pursue legal action against you.
You can't go to jail for not paying a judgment in Florida. Not paying a money judgment is not a crime. While the law gives creditors many opportunities and tools to collect on its judgment, it is up to the creditor to use those tools to collect.
If you owe money for most other debts like credit cards and medical bills, you (usually) did not sign a security agreement. So, the creditors cannot seize your home to pay the debt. But, if you want to sell your home and creditors have filed judgments for unpaid debts, you may need to pay those debts before the sale.
In Florida, the trust assets are not protected from the claims of your creditors. During your lifetime the assets in a revocable trust are treated as owned by you, and subject to the claims of your creditor as if you owned them in your personal name.
Under Florida law, a creditor must notify you about a bank account garnishment only after first serving the garnishment on the bank. Once the garnishment documents are served on the bank, the bank will freeze the account.
The Florida Homestead law makes purchasing a primary residence exceptionally attractive as it protects a Florida resident's primary home from a judgment creditor. This means that, should you have a recorded judgment against you, that judgment cannot attach to or become a lien on your homestead.
In Florida, a judgment lien can be attached to the debtor's real estate -- meaning a house, condo, land, or similar kind of property interest. Florida also allows judgment liens to be attached to the debtor's personal property -- things like jewelry, art, antiques, and other valuables.
The best-known Florida asset protection strategy is the Florida homestead. The Florida Constitution protects a debtor's primary residence from levy and execution to collect a debt. There are no value limits on homestead protection.
Is Florida a good state for asset protection?
Florida law provides strong protection for individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from creditor claims. This includes both traditional and Roth IRAs.
The sheriff's department can seize: Personal property: movable things (e.g., cars, horses, boats, furniture, jewelry) owned by the debtor. Real property: land and buildings owned by the debtor.
If you are struggling with debt and debt collectors, Farmer & Morris Law, PLLC can help. As soon as you use the 11-word phrase “please cease and desist all calls and contact with me immediately” to stop the harassment, call us for a free consultation about what you can do to resolve your debt problems for good.
They could claim that they are judgment-proof: This means that they have no money or available assets to settle your judgment claim. Therefore, they can be exempt from a collection before the court judgment.
The Florida statute of limitations on debt can protect you
Note that they can still contact you in an attempt to recover the debt, and they may even sue you.
