An attorney called me last week about his foreign client who owned Florida jointly with his wife. Neither the client nor his wife had a green card, although both had visitor visas entitling them to be in the United States and Florida for a limited time. The attorney represented the husband as a defendant in a civil lawsuit in Florida court. The attorney asked me if the real property was exempt from his client’s individual creditors as tenants by entireties property. The issue is whether a temporary visitor to Florida can qualify for Florida’s tenancy by entireties protections.
Permanent residency is an issue in homestead protection. Florida courts have ruled that residents without permanent visas (green cards) cannot claim homestead because legally they are unable to resided permanently in Florida or any other state. Permanent residence is not a requirement for tenancy by entireties. T by E protection is a common law protection rather than a creation of Florida statute so there is no statutory requirement of permanent residency either. Tenancy by entireties is a concept of property ownership without residency qualification. I told the attorney that in my opinion any married couple owning joint property in Florida can claim entireties protection as to the Florida property.
If the debtor ended up in Bankruptcy Court, doesn’t Federal law control the residence determination, which in turn, controls the availability of Florida common law and statutory protections?
I mad a bad mistake several years ago by signing a quick deed with my ex-wife. She has been late on several occassions with the mortgage payments and in result, my credit has been effected to a point that its not worth mentioning anymore. I spoke to an attorney recently, and all I’ve received from her services was a losy letter to her telling her to sign for the assumption papers to take my name off the mortgage being that I was still considered to be the primary. This has gone to the point that I need to take her to court and sue her for personal damages and my attorney’s fee. I am so angry but what can I do? My attorney is asking for more money as an additional retainers fee in the amount of 2K. I feel I can present my case to the court myself since I know the case best.