Asset Protection in Florida: Homestead, LLCs and Entireties Property
Florida protects a great deal of a debtor's property, but through specific provisions, not a general rule. Your home, retirement accounts, annuities, wages if you support a family, and property you own with a spouse each rest on a different provision with different limits. Planning starts by sorting which assets already sit inside an exemption.
Aaron Bedy, admitted to The Florida Bar, handles the trust and estate side of this work. Jake Blanchard and Jacob M. Stern, also admitted in Florida, handle the creditor disputes that test a plan.
What Florida law protects, and where the protection ends
Homestead comes first. Article X, section 4 of the Florida Constitution exempts a natural person's homestead from forced sale with no dollar cap. The limit is land: 160 contiguous acres outside a municipality, or one-half acre inside one. Federal bankruptcy law, 11 U.S.C. 522(p), limits the homestead value you can protect if you acquired it within 1,215 days of filing.
Entities protect less than clients expect. Under s. 605.0503, a charging order is the sole remedy against a member's interest in a multi-member LLC. In a single-member LLC, a court may order a foreclosure sale of the interest if distributions will not satisfy the judgment within a reasonable time, and the buyer takes the whole interest. A revocable trust adds no protection from the settlor's creditors (s. 736.0505(1)(a)).
Spouses have a stronger tool. Entireties property is indivisible, so only creditors of both spouses can reach it (Beal Bank, SSB v. Almand & Associates, 780 So. 2d 45 (Fla. 2001)), and a deposit account in both spouses' names is presumed to be held by the entirety (s. 655.79(1)). Annuity proceeds, life insurance cash value and qualifying retirement accounts are also exempt (ss. 222.14, 222.21). Timing governs all of it: ss. 726.105 and 222.30 let creditors unwind transfers and conversions made to hinder, delay or defraud them.
Homestead Planning
We confirm your home qualifies and align deeds and estate documents with the constitutional rules. When a judgment lien is recorded and a sale or loan is pending, we prepare the notice of homestead under s. 222.01.
LLC and Holding Structures
We separate operating risk from high-value assets, choosing single-member or multi-member structures with the charging-order rule in mind.
Entireties and Trust Titling
Spousal account and property titling, and trust design that respects Florida's limits on self-settled trusts.
Transfer Review
We test a planned transfer against ss. 726.105 and 222.30 before it is made and document the legitimate purpose.
Can a creditor force the sale of my Florida home?
Generally not, if it is your homestead and within the acreage limit. Article X, section 4 bars forced sale except for taxes and assessments, purchase, improvement or repair obligations, and labor performed on the property. A mortgage you signed, joined by your spouse if married, remains enforceable.
Does a Florida LLC protect my rental property from my personal creditors?
Partly. The LLC shields you from the company's debts (s. 605.0304). Against your own creditors, membership decides: a charging order is the exclusive remedy in a multi-member LLC, but a single-member interest can be sold at foreclosure if a charging order will not pay the judgment within a reasonable time.
Is a revocable trust asset protection in Florida?
No. Revocable trust property is subject to the settlor's creditors to the extent it would not be exempt if owned directly. For an irrevocable trust you created and can benefit from, a creditor can reach the maximum amount distributable to you (s. 736.0505(1)), spendthrift clause or not.
How long before a transfer is safe from a fraudulent transfer claim?
The calendar alone never makes it safe. Claims are extinguished 4 years after the transfer or, for actual-intent claims, 1 year after discovery if later (s. 726.110). Courts weigh badges such as transfers to insiders, retained control, or a transfer after a suit was threatened (s. 726.105(2)).
Facing an asset protection question in Florida?
The first consultation is confidential, and we respond within one business day. Planning only works before a claim exists, so tell us what you want to protect and from whom.