2023 Sightings of Florida’s ”Legal Chameleon”

Florida’s homestead exemption laws have been compared by legal scholars and courts to a chameleon “which changes color to accord with the background against which it is viewed.” Crosby and Miller, Our Legal Chameleon: The Florida Homestead Exemption, 2 U. Fla. L. Rev. 12 (1949). Under Florida’s Constitution and Statutes, there have developed three distinct aspects of Florida homestead law: (1) exemption from creditor’s claims, (2) restrictions on alienation, and (3) tax exemptions and benefits. Art. X, Sec. 4(a), Fla. Const., protects the homestead from forced sale by creditors unless the judgment stems from one of the limited exceptions in the Constitution. Art. X, Sec. 4(c) Fla. Const., establishes restrictions on the alienation of a homestead. Restrictions with respect to the devise and descent of homestead property are codified in Secs. 732.401 and 732.4015, F.S. Art. VII, Secs. 4(d) and 6, Fl. Const., set forth Florida’s homestead tax exemption laws which are codified in Ch. 196 and Sec. 193.155, F.S. This update covers the 2023 reported state and federal case sightings of the Florida “legal chameleon” (a/k/a Homestead).

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