Florida Civil Law

In Florida, the cases that are considered as “civil laws” include disputes or disagreements between the plaintiff, a party which seeks compensation from another party known as the defendant. Florida civil laws distinguish themselves from the criminal laws, which are directly involved in crimes like death and homicides.

The parties in civil laws can be individuals or corporations, and the Florida civil laws allow a smooth change of venues from one jurisdiction to another or one county of circuit to another, if deemed necessary. The Florida Senate on its websites allows the public to access its detailed procedures in civil laws all the way back from year 1997 to the current.

In order to be in the civil law in Florida, the person must be eighteen years of age of or older, do not have any legal or mental disability, live in the state of Florida as its permanent resident, submit a series of documents for criminal records and other relevant documents, and take an oath. Depending on the type of issue and the parties involved, the civil law cases in Florida may be held in federal or state courts.

If a Florida civil law case is tried in the state courts, then it will begin from County Courts and move up to Circuit Courts, District Courts, and Supreme Court of Florida. Now, if a civil law case falls under the jurisdiction of the federal courts, then it will be first held in either United States District Court for Northern District, Middle District, or Southern District.

Northern District includes twenty-three districts such as Dixie, Franklin, and Wakulla County. Middle District consists of thirty-five districts like Columbia, Hamilton, Nassau, and Suwannee County. Lastly, Southern District covers nine districts like Palm Beach and Highlands County.

U.S. Courts website allows the residents to find out which of the three district they fall under if they are curious.

Along with Georgia and Alabama, Florida falls under the U.S. circuit Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

According to the annual report from the Florida State Courts, the approximated funding for 2009-2010 was $66,536,360,098, and $451,311,113 were expected for the state court systems.

The report also listed the number of Florida civil cases in the state courts by each of the twenty circuits. This document is easily accessed by anyone through the website of Florida State Courts, and compares the figures from the previous year as well.

Florida Homestead Law

Florida Homestead property is one of the most misunderstood parts of Florida civil law. The article gives the basics of Florida Homestead property.

Florida's Homestead protections are actually three distinct protections under Florida civil law, each with a different purpose and effect: asset protection, reduced property taxes, and protection of surviving spouses and minor children. Each is explained below.

The Florida Constitution exempts homestead property from levy and execution by most creditors. So long as the property qualifies as homestead, the amount that can be protected is not limited, which makes the Florida Homestead an excellent asset protection vehicle. Even if the purchase of the homestead was designed to defeat creditors, the protection still applies. Under the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2005, however, debtors in bankruptcy may lose all or a portion of the homestead protection.

In bankruptcy, homestead protection is capped at $125,000, unless the debtor occupied the Florida homestead property and previous Florida homestead properties for 1215 days prior to the bankruptcy filing. Also, transfers into Florida Homestead within 10 years intended to defraud creditors may be challenged by the bankruptcy trustee.

Federal creditors, such as the Internal Revenue Service, mortgage holders, and persons holding mechanics liens on Florida homestead property are not restricted by the Florida homestead provisions.

Under Florida's Save Our Homes Act, the assessed value of a Florida Homestead is restricted to an increase of no more than 3% per year.

If a Florida resident passes away owning a Florida Homestead in his or her own name, if the resident had minor children, the minor children are entitled to the entire property, or, if the resident was married, to no less than a remainder interest in the property. A surviving spouse is entitled to no less than a life estate in Florida Homestead property.

The homestead provisions can be a trap for the unwary, especially for those with estate plans drafted while a resident of another state. For example, a person owning a house in New York and a condominium in Florida may have decided, while a New York resident, to leave the house to his spouse and his condominium to a daughter from a first marriage. If the person retires to Florida as a resident and then passes away, his spouse will inherit the house under the terms of the will and then be given a life estate in the Florida condominium.

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Florida Civil Law