Miami Asset Protection Lawyer
An asset protection lawyer in Miami reviews ownership, Florida exemptions and the legal limits on moving assets. Miami business attorney Aaron Resnick of Law Offices of Aaron Resnick helps business owners assess entity structures, insurance and trusts. Florida's homestead and statutory protections may already apply. Timing matters, but a threatened lawsuit does not mean every existing protection disappears.
Tell Aaron what happened. Call 305-672-7495 or request a consultation.
The first task is identifying what the law already protects, not rushing to transfer ownership.
Asset protection planning begins with ownership records, liabilities and insurance.
What Does Florida Protect From Creditors Without a Trust?
Florida may protect a qualifying homestead, qualifying property owned by married spouses as tenants by the entireties, and certain earnings, insurance benefits and retirement accounts without a trust. Protection depends on the asset, ownership and creditor. A tax exemption or joint account label alone does not establish protection from every claim.
Homestead. Article X, section 4 of the Florida Constitution protects a qualifying homestead owned by a natural person, subject to acreage and residence limits. Exceptions include property taxes and assessments, purchase obligations, and qualifying improvement, repair and labor obligations. This is not the same protection as the property tax exemption under chapter 196, Florida Statutes.
Tenancy by the entireties. Qualifying marital ownership generally protects property from a creditor of only one spouse, not a debt both spouses owe. In plain words: a creditor of one spouse alone generally cannot take property the two of you own together in that form. The ownership requirements must actually be met. See Beal Bank, SSB v. Almand & Associates, 780 So. 2d 45, 53 (Fla. 2001).
Earnings: Florida's exemption statute, chapter 222, Florida Statutes, protects qualifying head of family earnings, subject to its conditions and any valid waiver.
Insurance and annuities: Chapter 222 protects qualifying life insurance cash surrender values and annuity proceeds, unless effected for that creditor's benefit.
Retirement: Chapter 222 protects qualifying retirement funds and accounts, subject to statutory conditions and exceptions.
Can a Trust Protect My Assets From My Own Creditors in Florida?
A trust you fund for yourself does not, by itself, shield you from your own creditors in Florida. Revocable trust assets generally remain reachable. With an irrevocable trust, creditors can generally reach whatever may be distributed for your benefit. Spendthrift language does not override these rules.
Florida's trust code, chapter 736, Florida Statutes, lets creditors reach the “maximum amount that can be distributed to or for the settlor's benefit.” The settlor is the person who funds the trust. For revocable trusts, chapter 736 preserves exemptions that would apply if the settlor owned the property directly.
A trust funded by someone else presents a different question. A valid spendthrift provision under chapter 736 can restrict creditors from reaching a beneficiary's interest before distribution, subject to exceptions in the same chapter. The document, funding and distribution rights matter more than the word “irrevocable.”
Offshore trusts exist. United States reporting duties follow them, including those under 26 U.S.C. section 6048, and this firm does not pitch them.
When Is It Too Late to Move Assets?
It can be too late before anyone files a lawsuit. Florida law reaches transfers intended to hinder, delay or defraud creditors, and certain transfers for inadequate value involving financial distress. A claim need not become a judgment first. Review existing exposure and transfer history before changing ownership.
Chapter 726, Florida Statutes, addresses actual intent to “hinder, delay, or defraud any creditor.” Chapter 726 also addresses inadequate value combined with insufficient business assets or anticipated inability to pay debts. Chapter 726 covers specified transfers affecting existing creditors, including insolvency and certain insider repayments.
Chapter 726 filing periods are not permission to move assets:
| Claim | Period under chapter 726 |
|---|---|
| Transfer or obligation made with actual fraudulent intent | Four years after the transfer or obligation, or, if later, one year after it was or could reasonably have been discovered by the claimant. |
| Specified inadequate value claims involving financial distress or insolvency | Four years after the transfer or obligation. |
| Qualifying insider transfer for an earlier debt | One year after the transfer or obligation. |
Chapter 222 denies an exemption under that chapter resulting from a fraudulent transfer. Chapter 222 separately addresses fraudulent conversions into exempt assets and sets a four year filing period. Existing exemptions can still matter after a claim arises; a new transfer requires its own review.
How Do Miami Business Owners Protect Wealth They Have Already Built?
Wealth protection for a Miami business owner means keeping business risk inside the business and personal assets outside it. Aaron Resnick reviews four things in order: how each asset is titled, which entity signed each contract and guaranty, what the insurance covers, and which Florida exemptions already apply. Changes come after that review.
Separate the risks. An operating company that signs leases and hires staff carries different risk than a company that only holds real estate or equipment. Holding each in its own entity, under Florida's limited liability company law in chapter 605, helps keep a claim against one company with that company.
Read every personal guaranty. A guaranty puts the owner's own assets behind the company's debt. The entity does not protect what the owner signed personally. Aaron lists each guaranty, its cap and its release terms before any other step.
Know what a creditor of the owner can reach. For a Florida LLC with two or more members, chapter 605 generally makes a charging order the judgment creditor's sole remedy against the debtor member's transferable interest. Under chapter 605, a court may order a sole member's entire LLC interest sold at a foreclosure sale if the judgment creditor shows that distributions under a charging order will not satisfy the judgment within a reasonable time.
Use what Florida already protects. Homestead, qualifying retirement accounts and life insurance cash value are covered above and in chapter 222. Moving money into them after a claim arises is reviewed under chapter 726 first.
What Should a Miami Business Owner Do First?
Find out what the law already protects, then read the documents that created your exposure. In order: the entity and its records, the insurance policies, the homestead status and deed, and any trust. A company opening a Miami office runs the same review before it signs its first lease or guaranty here.
First, examine the entity and its records. Identify who owns each asset and who signed each obligation. Review the operating agreement, company status, accounts, leases and guaranties. Keep personal assets separate from business assets. Florida's limited liability company law, chapter 605, Florida Statutes, protects LLC members from company liability solely because of their membership; it does not answer every other basis for a personal claim. Chapter 605 also says missed LLC formalities alone do not impose liability. Maintain accurate records without treating paperwork as an absolute shield.
Second, review insurance. Insurance is often the first protection a claim meets. Professional liability, general liability and umbrella policies each answer different claims. Check the actual policy, insured entities, exclusions and notice requirements before assuming the dispute is covered.
Third, check homestead status and the appropriate filing. In Miami Dade, obtain the deed from the Clerk's Official Records, not just the Property Appraiser's property summary. The Property Appraiser handles the homestead tax benefit. A designation under chapter 222 concerns the separate forced sale protection. Review eligibility and whether that filing is appropriate; neither a tax election nor recording a statement cures every ownership or creditor issue. In Miami Dade, a claim over $50,000 is generally filed in the Circuit Court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit; smaller claims go to County Court.
Fourth, examine the trust question. Identify who funded it, who can receive distributions and what the trust is meant to accomplish. Coordinate any lawful planning with the existing estate plan. Each step has to fit the owner's own facts and stay inside the rules above.
What Should I Bring to the Review With Aaron?
Bring the demand or court papers, any deadlines, entity records, the deed, insurance policies, trust documents and the transfer history for the last four years. Aaron Resnick separates existing protection, possible coverage and proposed changes before anything is signed or moved.
Review representative matters, Aaron Resnick's background, the firm's media coverage and Ask Aaron: can they come after you personally on a business debt?
Call 305-672-7495 or request a consultation. Include any pending court deadline.
We Don't Make Promises. We Have Results to Prove It.
Aaron Resnick has handled business disputes in Miami since 1998 and is a fourth generation Miami resident. He works hands-on on every case; the client gets Aaron on every major litigation issue, not a junior partner. The Law Offices of Aaron Resnick represents business owners and their families in Miami Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties and across Florida in asset protection planning and the litigation that tests it. Call 305-672-7495 or request a consultation.
This is general information about Florida law, not advice for a particular claim. Reading this page or contacting the firm does not create an attorney client relationship. No protection or outcome is assured.
