What money in my bank account is protected from creditors in Florida?

1. Federal Floor. Social Security, SSI, SSDI, VA, OPM, and federal pensions are protected under 42 U.S.C. § 407 and 38 U.S.C. § 5301. The 31 C.F.R. Part 212 two-month rule provides automatic bank-level protection for direct-deposited federal benefits.

2. State Wild-Card / Cash Exemption. Florida Const. art. X § 4 gives every debtor a $1,000 personal-property exemption (Osterndorf v. Turner doubled to $4,000 when no homestead claimed). Fla. Stat. § 222.11 protects wages of a "head of family" up to $750/week, and traceable deposited wages remain exempt for six months if kept in a separate account.

3. Other Source-Specific Exemptions. Public assistance (§ 222.201), unemployment (§ 443.051), workers' comp (§ 440.22), disability income (§ 222.18), alimony and child support, and prepaid college trust (§ 222.22) are exempt.

4. Retirement Accounts. Fla. Stat. § 222.21 provides complete exemption for IRAs, 401(k)s, Roth IRAs, 529 plans, and ERISA plans, with no dollar cap.

5. Joint Accounts. Florida strongly protects tenancy-by-the-entireties bank accounts: under Beal Bank v. Almand Bros., joint accounts of spouses are presumed entireties property exempt from one spouse's individual creditors.

6. Claim of Exemption Process. Under Fla. Stat. § 77.041, debtor has 20 days from receipt of the writ notice to file the claim form; creditor must request a hearing within statutory period or funds release.

7. Burden of Proof. Debtor must trace exempt source through bank records; commingling with non-exempt deposits can destroy exemption.

8. Penalty for Wrongful Garnishment. § 77.28 allows attorney fees to prevailing party; bad-faith garnishment can yield sanctions.

9. Bankruptcy Interplay. Florida opted out of federal exemptions; trustee can reach non-exempt cash in Chapter 7. Chapter 13 lets debtor retain.

This is legal information, not legal advice.