Florida’s homestead creditor protections are some of the strongest in the country. You can purchase a Florida homestead to avoid your creditors. Even if it is clear that you’re buying a home in Florida with the purpose of avoiding your creditors, your creditors cannot use that against you. For instance, let’s say you have a $500,000 net worth. You have multiple creditors whom you collectively owe over $200,000. You could move to Florida, pile your entire net worth into a homestead and it would be protected from creditors.
There are exceptions where certain creditors can still lien homestead property. The major exception is if the money used to buy a homestead was obtained by fraud or some other illegal activity and the victim is the creditor. You cannot use Florida homestead protections as a shield to commit crime. Other creditors you cannot avoid with purchasing a Florida homestead include the government when it comes to paying taxes, your mortgage lender if you obtained a mortgage to buy the homestead, contractors you owe money for improvements to the homestead, certain criminal judgments, homeowner or condominium association assessments, child support or spousal support, and student loans.
