Posted on March 1, 2007 by Jonathan Alper

Protection Of Wages Deposited in Internet or Foreign Bank

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Florida Statute 222.11 protects from creditors' garnishment earnings of a debtor who is a head of household. The wages are protected for six months after they deposited in the debtor's financial account. Some people set up financial accounts where nothing but wages are deposited. These so-called wage accounts are used to clearly isolate and trace protected wages after they are deposited. A reader asked me whether a Florida resident can establish a "wage account" at an internet bank or an out-of-state bank with no Florida branches.

The Florida statutes have no requirements about "wage accounts" in order to protect deposited salary. In fact, the ideal of a segregated wage account is not found in the Florida statutes. The protection of deposited wages depends more on the debtor's residency and place of employment being in Florida than the locus of his financial accounts. I am aware of no Florida court decisions which limit protected wages to deposits in Florida banks. Therefore, I expect that the wages paid to a Florida head of household would be protected in an internet bank or foreign bank account. As a practical matter, however, deposits in other states may be vulnerable to judgments in those states where wages are deposited. The safest thing is to maintain protected wages in a bank with no branches outside of Florida.

posted by Jonathan Alper, asset protection and bankruptcy attorney, Orlando, Florida
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anne price - July 27, 2007 5:25 PM

I am domiciled in florida.. used my sisters address in maryland as a mail drop while I do sailboat deliveries.
credit card company has filed for judgement against me in maryland using the mail drop premise..
all I own is my minivan and my sailboat which is my primary residence and federally documented and registered in fla, same with the van, had a drivers license here since 1996.
my bank is USAA, based out of texas

is this suit legally filed..do I have to go to court up there? what can they do to me as a florida resident..
i am lost my bank cannot tell me whether or noth they can take my savings and checking accounts
thanks..

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