To what extent are homesteads protected from claims of creditors in Florida?
While a person’s homestead, defined as a maximum of one-half acre inside a municipality or 160 acres outside a municipality, is obviously not protected if the owner has pledged it as collateral by, for example, a mortgage, the Florida Constitution does provide an unlimited protection from the claims of non-consensual creditors for legal residents of Florida. The property must meet certain definitions to qualify as homestead property, and the timing of the creation of the homestead in relation to creditors’ claims may be an issue in evaluating the legitimacy of the homestead exemption from execution and forced sale.
