Is Florida a Community Property State?

Community property is a system where property acquired during the marriage is considered to be owned jointly by both spouses. Community property states use the law to classify all assets, including income, real estate, personal property, and bank account, as jointly owned. Community property assets are divided in a divorce, no matter who is on the title for the property.

Community Property in Florida

Like most states, Florida does not use community property. Instead, Florida uses equitable distribution. Equitable distribution means that individually acquired assets during marriage are owned separately. In a divorce, all assets are divided fairly. The distribution does not need to be equal, however.

Implications for Asset Protection

In Florida, property is considered to be either separate property or joint property. Separate property is owned by one spouse alone, while joint property is owned by both spouses. Joint property can sometimes be held as tenants by entireties.

A creditor of one spouse cannot collect against the separate property belonging to the non-debtor spouse. The creditor of one spouse is ordinarily entitled to 50% of the value of the joint property belonging to both spouses. However, property owned as tenants by entireties is fully exempt from a creditor of one spouse alone.

In a community property state, a creditor of one spouse is entitled to half the value of all community property. This means that a creditor can collect against property acquired by the non-debtor spouse during the marriage even if that property is held solely in their name.

You should prepare for a property division process that aims for fairness based on various factors, rather than an automatic 50/50 split.