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If my Florida primary residence is on a .51 acre lot in a municipality and I get sued, can the creditor take my house because I am over the .5 acre limit?

I understand that I would keep .5/.51 = 98% of the proceeds, but would I have to go through the hassle of moving over the extra .01 acres?

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  • Where does the 0.5 acre exemption come from? Can you provide link to a reputable source and quote the relevant conditions, please.
    – Rick
    Feb 11 at 12:38
  • @Rick "Article X, Sec. 4(a)(1) limits the protected homestead to one-half (1/2) acre if it is located within a municipality (town or city) or 160 acres if it is outside a municipality." esclaw.com/blog/…
    – N00b101
    Feb 11 at 18:45

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You would have to move

At least one Florida attorney has spelled this out:

https://www.alperlaw.com/florida-asset-protection/florida-homestead-law/

Example of Florida Homestead Law George and Martha live on a one-acre lot in Tampa, Florida. The property is worth approximately $500,000.

The Constitution affords protection only to one-half acre lots in a city. The homestead protection would apply to 50% of the $500,000 value, or $250,000.

George and Martha may not survey the lot, allocate the protected portion to the physical dwelling, and then allocate the unprotected portion to the less valuable backyard. A creditor can record a judgment against the property and force its sale. The creditor would get $250,000 of the sale proceeds applied to its judgment.

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  • The linked page also cites Englander v. Mills, 95 F. 3d 1028 (11th Cir 1996) as the precedent for the above rule.
    – Michael Seifert
    Feb 13 at 0:14

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