florida exemptions after judgment

[rogue22]

I read the florida statutes on some of the exemptions, but im still a bit confused.

1. In regards to wage garnishment after a judgment is entered, is a portion of the "head of household's" employment income still able to be garnished? Spouse is not listed on judgment and does not work anyways.

2. We recently had a death (insurance) benefit folled over into an annuity within the same insurance company. We never actually had the benefit money in our bank accounts or even cash, litterally just rolled over into an annuity. This took place before the judgment went to court. Are the full amount of annuities exempt? The debtor's exam paperwork asks if we have any annuities and the florida garnishment exemption form has a space to checkmark if we want to exempt an annuity.

3. We have one car with a small $700 lien against it thats being paid off every month. Title is in both of our names with "and" not "or" (my name AND wife's name). Car value is approximately $7500 in fairly good shape. This is are only car so its our only means of transportation. Is there an exemption to keep this car from getting repo'ed from the judgment?

4. What are the exemption limitations in Florida? For example, when filing ch.7, you get up to $12,000 in asset value to exempt (when filing jointly).

[tobee43]

Chapter 7 Exemption Limitations in Florida

Homestead

Both homesteaded real property (such as a house) and personal property (such as a mobile home) are exempted. The property's lot size can't exceed a half-acre within a municipality or 160 acres outside a municipality.

Insurance Proceeds

Proceeds from an annuity contract (not including lottery winnings), death benefits paid to a specific person (not to an estate), disability or illness benefits, and the cash surrender value of a life insurance are exempted.

Pensions

Retirement accounts are generally exempted in bankruptcy, as long as they are tax-exempt; this includes 401(k)s, 403(b)s, SEP and SIMPLE IRA's. Florida bankruptcy law also allows the pensions of certain types of employees to be exempted, including police officers, state officers and employees, teachers, and firefighters.

Personal Property

Any personal property valued up to $1,000 (doubled for married couples) is exempted. If there is no homestead exemption being claimed, then the personal property deduction is increased to $4,000. In addition, up to $1,000 is allowed for an automobile. Prescription health aids, such as wheelchairs, are exempted, as are pre-need funeral contracts, prepaid college fund trusts, prepaid hurricane savings accounts, and prepaid medical savings account deposits.

Public Benefits

Compensation paid to crime victims (other than medical debt for treatment of injury sustained during the crime) is exempted. Public assistance, Social Security, unemployment benefits, veterans' benefits, and workers' compensation are also exempted.

Wages

For a Head of Household, up to $500 per week for 6 months is exempted. Federal employees' pension payments received 3 months prior to the bankruptcy are exempted if they are needed for support.

Miscellaneous

Alimony and child support (if they are necessary support) are exempt, as are any legal damages that were awarded to an employee for injuries sustained in a hazardous occupation.

Garnishment:

"Florida’s laws concerning wage garnishment protect the head of a household’s wages from wage garnishment. This protection is unlimited. What that means is that regardless of how much the head of household makes, his or her earnings cannot be withheld to repay a debt.

A person is the “head of household” if he or she provides more than 50% of another person’s support. This person can be a child, elderly parent, or wife but he or she must be living in the same house. This provision in Florida’s statutes is designed to protect dependents of the family’s primary wage earner. The logic is that if the primary wage earner cannot support his or her family because his or her wages have been garnished, the state of Florida and its taxpayers will end up responsible for supporting the family. "

here's a really interesting blog on the garnish after bk in florida...it may be helpful:

Wage Garnishment After Bankruptcy: Is Employer Required To Withhold Post Petition Paychecksk, Or Is Doing So A Stay Violation ?

Here’s a real bankruptcy situation I dealt with last week; the issues resolved, so I can use the case for a blog post. I’ll simplify the facts. A creditor serves a wage garnishment on the debtor’s employer. The employer garnishes the next paycheck (" Paycheck One"). Then, the debtor files Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The Friday following the bankruptcy filing the employer garnishes a second paycheck ("Paycheck Two"). We serve a suggestion of bankruptcy to the creditor and the employer. The employer refuses to release to the debtor any part of Paycheck Two (post filing) until the bankruptcy trustee sends the employer a letter releasing any claim against the money as part of the bankruptcy estate.

The employer believed that wages due to the debtor’s employment prior to the bankruptcy filing are part of the bankruptcy estate (if not otherwise exempt). Therefore, the employer would not release any money until the bankruptcy trustee decided what portion of Paycheck Two was earned pre-petition. The issue is whether a debtor’s pay is earned when worked or earned at the end of the pay period when the paycheck is due.

I’m pretty sure the employer in this case is wrong, and that the garnishment of Paycheck Two after filing is a violation of the automatic stay by the creditor and maybe by the employer as well. There are bankruptcy court decisions which have held that wages are not subject to garnishment until the paycheck is due. Courts have sanctioned creditors for garnishing paychecks due after a bankruptcy is filed. Because Paycheck Two was due after the bankruptcy no part of the debtor’s earnings during the pay period preceding bankruptcy is subject to garnishment or is subject to the trustee. Otherwise, every employer will have to withhold the next paycheck due to any employee who files bankruptcy to see if any part of money earned prior to the bankruptcy filing date is part of the trustee's estate.

That the creditor served the wage garnishment prior to bankruptcy is no defense. Bankruptcy courts have held that failure to undo a garnishment after bankruptcy is filed is a willful violation of the stay; creditors must take affirmative action to dissolve a wage garnishment when a debtor files bankruptcy.

In fact, some attorney representing either the employer or the creditor eventually saw the light. My client sent my secretary an email stating that the issue is resolved, and that the employer sent the debtor all the garnished money including Paychecks One and Two."