Florida Legal Insights

Florida's head-of-family wage exemption is one of the strongest in the country — and most people facing garnishment don't know it exists.

If you provide more than half the financial support for any dependent and your weekly take-home is $750 or less, a judgment creditor cannot touch your paycheck. Zero.

You have to claim it within 20 days of the garnishment notice. That window moves fast.

A will tells people what you want. A Lady Bird Deed actually moves the property — without probate, without court, without delay.

In Florida, a Lady Bird Deed (enhanced life estate deed) lets you keep full control of your home while you're alive, then transfers it directly to your named beneficiary the moment you pass. No probate. No waiting.

If your primary goal is keeping the house out of probate, this is often the cleanest path.

Chapter 7 vs. Chapter 13 — the question I get most often.

Chapter 7: Faster (3–5 months), eliminates qualifying unsecured debt outright, requires passing the means test. Best for people with mostly credit card or medical debt and limited assets.

Chapter 13: Takes 3–5 years, but lets you catch up on mortgage arrears, protect non-exempt assets, and handle debts that survive Chapter 7. Better if you're behind on your home or earn too much for Chapter 7.

Both stop garnishment and collection calls the day you file.

Your healthcare surrogate designation is the document that speaks for you when you can't speak for yourself.

A durable power of attorney handles finances. A healthcare surrogate handles medical decisions — who can consent to treatment, who can access your records, who can make end-of-life calls if it comes to that.

Without one, Florida law determines who decides. That may not be the person you'd choose.

Florida's homestead exemption is unlimited.

Most states cap it. Florida doesn't. If you've lived in your home for at least 1,215 days before filing Chapter 7, your primary residence is fully protected — regardless of how much equity you have.

That's one reason Florida is one of the most debtor-friendly states in the country for bankruptcy filers who own their home.

A revocable trust doesn't just avoid probate — it avoids the public record.

When a will goes through probate in Florida, it becomes a public document. Anyone can look up what you owned and who got it. A revocable trust transfers assets privately, outside of court, with no public filing.

For clients with real estate in multiple counties — or multiple states — a trust also avoids the need for ancillary probate proceedings in each jurisdiction.

If you're starting a business in Florida, the entity you choose matters more than most people realize.

An LLC gives you liability protection and pass-through taxation. An S-Corp can reduce self-employment tax once your income reaches a certain level. A sole proprietorship gives you nothing — your personal assets are fully exposed.

The right structure depends on your revenue, your industry, and how many people are involved. Getting it wrong at the start costs more to fix later than it does to set up correctly now.

Most people think a will handles everything. It doesn't.

A will controls what happens to probate assets — property titled in your name alone, with no beneficiary designation. It does not control retirement accounts, life insurance, jointly held property, or anything with a named beneficiary.

For most Florida families, the majority of their wealth passes outside the will entirely. That's not a problem — unless the beneficiary designations are outdated.