Homestead is all about protection from creditors that the Florida Constitution provides for certain types of property. Specifically, protected property is residential property owned by a natural person of up to 1/2 acre within a municipality or 160 acres outside a municipality. Also protected is personal property up to $1,000. For homestead protection to apply, the homestead must be established before the judgment creditor's levy on the property. Also note that proceeds from the sale of the homestead retain homestead status if the owner has a good faith intent to reinvest in another homestead within a reasonable time after the sale.
Those are the basics, but there are some details to know as well. Homestead property as defined above is protected from levy by creditors of the owner but is not protected from forced sale by a creditor if sold to satisfy any obligations associated with the purchase, improvement, or repair of the property (for example, a mortgage or a mechanic's lien). It's also not protected from creditors collecting on taxes or assessment of the property. If fraud is involved in obtaining any kind of a loan, an equitable lien may be placed on the property so that the creditor can collect on the loan regardless of any homestead status of the property.
Homestead protection may be abandoned if the property is abandoned. Abandonment is a question of fact but generally a homestead is abandoned when it is no longer a bona fide home and place of permanent residence. Intent is important here.
Also important is that homestead property may not be conveyed by one spouse without the other spouse's consent and may be freely devised upon death only if there are no surviving children or spouse. This aspect of homestead protection, however, may be waived in an antenuptial agreement.
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