
As
a matter of background, your homestead is defined as your primary place of
residence (assuming you are a permanent resident of Florida). Furthermore,
homestead is limited to up to one-half acre within a municipality and up to 160
contiguous acres outside a municipality. If you have more than 1 home in
Florida, you can only declare one of the properties as your Homestead property.
Although
this seems like a very strong protection tool, there are three scenarios in
which the Homestead Protection will not prevail, IRS tax liens, mechanic’s
liens associated with maintenance or construction of the specific homestead
property, and liens related to mortgages and Home Owners Association dues.
These classes of creditors can attack your Homestead property and force a sale
to satisfy a judgement.
In a
recent case (Dejesus v. A.M.J.R.K. Corp.)
the Florida District Court of Appeals provided some clarity on the issue of
ownership of a homestead. The main issue of the case was whether the beneficial
homeowner could receive Homestead protection of a residence owned in a
corporation. The court concluded that in order for a property to receive
Florida’s homestead protection, it must be owned by a natural person. Furthermore,
the court came to this conclusion even though the beneficial homeowner was the
sole shareholder of the corporation.
This
decision in Dejesus further clarifies the understanding that a business entity
cannot qualify for homestead protection. In order to receive such protection, a
property must be owned by an individual or a land trust.
Please
do not hesitate to contact Morris Law Group should you have any questions about
Florida’s Homestead protection.
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