Page 10 - Stuart Exposure - August '20

Page 10, Stuart Exposure

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Asset Protection – Taking In Florida, a judgment can remain valid for many years. Florida law additionally (generally) fully exempts

Advantage Of The ‘Free’ If, during the time the judgment was valid, tenancy by the one’s homestead property from the reach of creditors. It
protects 100 percent of the homesteaded property’s value
entireties’ assets were no longer jointly owned – either due
Options Florida Provides to death of a spouse or divorce – the outstanding judgment up to a ½-acre located within a municipality and up to 160
would at that time instantly attach to the unprotected asset. contiguous acres outside of a municipality.
By Ryan Abernethy Joint ownership isn’t always appropriate. In second It also provides protection to assets held in qualified
We’re often asked how marriages or “blended families” (each spouse has children retirement plan accounts (IRA and 401(k) accounts) and
best to protect assets from from prior relationships), a goal may be to include “control” annuity contracts.
the reach of future potential provisions in estate planning that prevent a surviving spouse If appropriate, these opportunities can provide important
judgment creditors. from fully controlling all assets that pass to them upon the asset protection. It’s crucial to meet with a qualified attorney
The best way is to death of a spouse or to alter the eventual disposition of or financial advisor to ensure that your assets are “owned”
terminate all contact with assets upon the surviving spouse’s subsequent death. or “invested” to take advantage of protections offered by
the outside world (potential However, in a family situation where both spouses Florida.
creditors): no business intend for all jointly owned assets to pass to the surviving Ryan C. Abernethy, associate attorney and counselor at
dealings, no borrowing spouse under the surviving spouse’s full control, joint TBE law at Abernethy Law Group, 130 S. Indian River Drive,
or credit transactions and ownership of assets provides a simple way to establish some No. 201, Fort Pierce can be contacted at (772) 489-4901
of course – no driving or basic level of asset protection. or rabernethy@abernethylawgroup.com.
ownership of any vehicle.
Unfortunately, that’s not possible. While there are
advanced “wealth preservation” strategies that may be reaL estate
designed and implemented to increase protection from
“litigation risk” (measures that we frequently utilize to
provide additional protection for our clients), Florida law
provides several “free” asset protection opportunities. Treasure Coast Real Estate During the beginning of second quarter of this year
One of the most powerful of these is the ownership of real estate sales plummeted as much as 45 percent as a
assets as a “tenancy by the entireties” (TBE). Report result of the pandemic and Stay At Home order. Rather
In Florida, married couples jointly owning real estate or than hurt the real estate market, this seemed to just
other assets may do so in a legal form of ownership known Despite The Pandemic And Social Unrest, increase pent-up buyer demand.
as tenancy by the entireties’ ownership. The Real Estate Market Is Booming On the downside, the inventory of existing homes is
If you’re a Florida resident, so long as assets are jointly extremely low. One buyer joked to me that trying to find
owned between spouses, a judgment creditor of one spouse By Jim Weix a home was as bad as trying to find toilet paper. I did find
can’t attach or otherwise gain ownership of assets owned Although many them a home and as a closing gift, among other things, I
by the married couple as tenants by the entireties, so long segments of the economy gave them a 16-roll package of toilet paper.
as the assets remain in that form of ownership. are suffering, the real Another interesting concept is that the most buyers
This form of protection is not perfect. For example, it estate market reminds are local, as few people are traveling to Florida. However
wouldn’t protect against a judgment entered against both me of the boom times in out of state people are still buying some homes. I sold
spouses. It’s only available while assets remain in this form the early to mid-2000s. one of my listings to a New York couple. They viewed
of ownership. I sold four homes in one my 3-D self-guided walk through and bought the home
week after Florida’s Stay without physically seeing it.
At Home order was lifted The other good news, at least for sellers, is that prices
and each week after that are holding steady and even slightly increasing. Buyers
has also been busy. also seem to have accepted the fact that if they want a
To add fuel to the hot real estate market, mortgage home, they may have to settle for a home that needs some
rates have dropped to the lowest ever recorded by work, if it otherwise meets their needs.
Freddie Mac since it began keeping record in 1971. This is important to those sellers that want to put their
According to Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief home on the market, but are unable to financially afford
economist: “Mortgage rates continue to slowly drift to make needed repairs. They can simply list it for sale
downward, with a distinct possibility that the average and expect to sell without the repairs.
30-year fixed-rate mortgage could dip below 3 percent Jim Weix is a broker associate with The Keyes
later this year.” Company. Jim has 24 years of experience selling real
A 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 3.07 percent estate full time. If you have questions or want the services
for the week ending July 2. A 15-year fixed-rate of an experienced expert, you can reach Jim at (772)
mortgage averaged 2.56 percent. 341-2941 or jimweix@jimweix.com.

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