If you are a Florida resident and have not filed for bankruptcy, you have unlimited homestead equity protection from your creditors. Everyone knows this. But, if you are contemplating filing for bankruptcy, then you need to be a bit more careful. If you are a Florida resident and have owned a homestead in the State of Florida for at least 3 years and 4 months, and have done nothing to impair your exemption, you have nothing to worry about, you will be entitled to unlimited homestead equity exemption. If you are a Florida resident and have owned a homestead in the State of Florida for less than 3 years and 4 months, you need to dig a little deeper.
On April 1, 2007 , a change will take place that increases the available homestead equity exemption for an individual homeowner who owned their home for more than 2 years, but less than 3 years and 4 months. The equity exemption is going up to $137,000.00 from $125,000.00. Although this may not seem significant at the moment, Floridians know that the real estate market is tight and consumers facing financial problems need to protect every little bit of equity they can.
