A joint bank account in Florida can be garnished, but how much a creditor can actually take depends on who owns the account with you and where the money came from. Married couples who hold an account together are usually protected when the debt belongs to only one spouse. Unmarried co-owners get no automatic protection and have to prove which dollars are theirs. Social Security and other federal benefit deposits are shielded no matter whose name is on the account.
What Happens When the Bank Gets the Writ
Garnishment starts after a creditor wins a judgment and asks the court to order your bank to turn over your funds.1Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Chapter 77 – Garnishment Once the writ reaches the bank, every account tied to the debtor is frozen. No withdrawals, no transfers, no debit card purchases.2Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 77.06 – Writ Effect
The bank’s answer to the court lists every account it holds for the debtor and names anyone else who appears to have an ownership interest. From that moment, the burden sits with the debtor and any affected co-owner to show the court that some or all of the money should be released. The freeze happens fast, often before you know the lawsuit existed.
Married Couples and Tenancy by the Entireties
If you and your spouse hold the account together, Florida law presumes you own it as tenancy by the entireties unless a written agreement says otherwise.3Florida Senate. Florida Code 655.79 – Deposits and Accounts in Two or More Names; Presumption as to Vesting on Death The law treats the two of you as a single owner rather than two people splitting the balance. A creditor with a judgment against only one spouse cannot reach the account.
The Florida Supreme Court confirmed this rule in Beal Bank, SSB v. Almand and Associates, holding that when the signature card does not expressly disclaim entireties ownership, the presumption applies.4FindLaw. Beal Bank SSB v Almand and Associates In practice, this shields household money from one spouse’s personal credit card debt, medical bills, or similar individual obligations.
To claim the protection, you will need a marriage certificate and a copy of the account signature card showing both spouses’ names without any language disclaiming entireties ownership.
When the Entireties Shield Does Not Hold
The protection has real limits. If both spouses signed for the debt — a joint credit card, a cosigned loan, a jointly filed tax return — the creditor has a judgment against both of you, and the whole account is fair game.
Federal tax debts are the biggest exception. The U.S. Supreme Court held in United States v. Craft that a federal tax lien can attach to property held as tenancy by the entireties, because each spouse holds individual rights that qualify as “property or rights to property” under the Internal Revenue Code.5Justia. United States v Craft, 535 US 274 The IRS can pursue a joint bank account to collect one spouse’s unpaid taxes even where a private creditor could not. A spouse who believes the tax liability is not really theirs may request innocent spouse relief by filing IRS Form 8857 within two years of receiving a notice of audit or additional tax due.6Internal Revenue Service. Separation of Liability Relief
The protection also disappears on divorce, and it never applied in the first place if the account documents disclaimed entireties ownership. Because the shield is unique to marriage, it does not extend to domestic partners, engaged couples, or any other relationship.
Unmarried Co-Owners: Prove Your Share or Lose It
Joint accounts held by roommates, siblings, unmarried partners, or a parent and adult child are usually structured as joint tenancy with right of survivorship. These accounts get no automatic protection. When the writ hits, the bank freezes the entire balance, not just the debtor’s share.7United States Court of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
If you are the non-debtor co-owner, the law does not assume an even split. It starts from the position that the debtor owns everything in the account until someone proves otherwise. To get your money back, you have to trace specific dollars to yourself with documents such as:
- Pay stubs or direct-deposit confirmations showing your income flowing into the account
- Several months of bank statements showing a pattern of deposits traceable to your earnings or separate assets
- Transfer records showing funds moved from an account in your name alone into the joint account
Co-owners who mix finances without keeping records are the most exposed. If you cannot clearly separate your deposits from the debtor’s, the court may let the creditor take the entire balance.
Federal Benefit Deposits Are Automatically Protected
If any Social Security, VA disability, federal retirement, or similar federal benefit payment has been deposited to the account by direct deposit in the past two months, a U.S. Treasury rule requires the bank to run an automatic review as soon as it receives the garnishment order.8eCFR. 31 CFR 212.5 – Account Review
The bank calculates a “protected amount” equal to the lesser of the total federal benefits deposited in that two-month window or the current balance, and it must leave that money available to you. Only funds above the protected amount can be frozen.9Federal Reserve. Garnishment of Accounts Containing Federal Benefit Payments You do not have to file anything to trigger this review. It happens regardless of whether the account is joint or individual, regardless of whether other money is mixed in, and even if the garnishment order tells the bank to freeze everything.
Social Security itself is also protected from garnishment under federal law, and that protection follows the money into the account.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 US Code 407 – Assignment of Benefits Benefit deposits older than the two-month lookback window are not covered by the automatic bank review, so you may need to file a claim of exemption and trace them back to the original government payment.
Filing a Claim of Exemption
If your account is frozen and you believe some or all of the money is protected, you file a “Claim of Exemption and Request for Hearing” with the Clerk of Court in the county where the garnishment case was filed. The form asks you to identify the case, choose the legal basis for your exemption, and attach supporting evidence.11Florida Senate. Florida Code 77.041 – Notice to Individual Defendant for Claim of Exemption From Garnishment; Procedure for Hearing
What you attach depends on the exemption you are claiming:
- For tenancy by the entireties: a marriage certificate and a copy of the account signature card with no disclaimer of entireties ownership
- For a non-debtor co-owner share: deposit records, pay stubs, and transfer documentation tracing your contributions
- For protected benefits: bank statements showing direct deposits from the Social Security Administration, VA, or other federal benefit agency
The deadline is strict: you have 20 days from receiving the garnishment notice to file. You also have to deliver or mail copies to both the creditor (or the creditor’s attorney) and the bank. Miss the 20 days and you can lose the right to claim the exemption at all.11Florida Senate. Florida Code 77.041 – Notice to Individual Defendant for Claim of Exemption From Garnishment; Procedure for Hearing
What Happens After You File
Once your claim is on file, the creditor has a short window to respond with a sworn written objection. If you hand-delivered the claim, the creditor has 8 business days. If you mailed it, 14 business days. If no sworn objection arrives in that window, the clerk must automatically dissolve the writ and release your funds. No hearing needed.11Florida Senate. Florida Code 77.041 – Notice to Individual Defendant for Claim of Exemption From Garnishment; Procedure for Hearing
If the creditor does object, the court schedules a hearing where a judge reviews the evidence from both sides. Courts generally move these hearings to the front of the line to shorten the freeze, but the process can still take several weeks. Your money stays in the bank’s hands the whole time, unavailable to you and to the creditor. Acting quickly on the claim is the single biggest thing you can do to shorten that wait.