Court order to collect any items available in my home?

[allenpeter]

What is the name of your state? Florida
Does the court permits the judgment creditor to whom I legally owe money to obtain a court order directing the sheriff to enter my home and take whatever items they see?

 

[Zigner]

What is the name of your state? Florida
Does the court permits the judgment creditor to whom I legally owe money to obtain a court order directing the sheriff to enter my home and take whatever items they see?

Almost definitely not.

 

[doucar]

Almost.. The Court can issue a levy which will permit the Sheriff to seize any non-exempt assets in your home. It is a very time consuming and expensive procedure that is rarely done. But those costs advanced by the creditor can be added to the judgment. The items seized, not subject to Florida's exemption statute will be sold and the proceeds first applied to the costs of the seizure and sale, then to the judgment.

 

[adjusterjack]

Doucar beat me to it. It's called a Writ or Execution. The time to avoid it is before it's issued. If you get sued for a debt, don't ignore it, there may be defenses. If it goes to judgment, don't ignore the judgment. There are things you can do to avoid a Writ of Execution.

Whoa! A Writ of Execution? | Florida Consumer Law Group (defendusnow.com)

 

[Taxing Matters]

The items seized, not subject to Florida's exemption statute will be sold and the proceeds first applied to the costs of the seizure and sale, then to the judgment.

In addition to the costs involved, one of the reasons this is not often done is that the homes of most Americans contain very little household goods that are actually worth a whole lot. People tend to think their stuff is worth a whole lot more than it really is. Put the contents of your home up for public auction and you may end up depressed at how little people will bid for the stuff in your home that you are quite attached to.

 

[zddoodah]

Does the court permits the judgment creditor to whom I legally owe money to obtain a court order directing the sheriff to enter my home and take whatever items they see?

This is a very oddly phrased sentence, but I think it will answer it to point out that no judgment creditor is going to get an order that authorizes "the sheriff to enter [your] home and take whatever items they see."

It may, however, be possible for the judgment creditor to get an order that authorizes the sheriff to seize certain items.

 

[allenpeter]

So many thanks.
I am the debtor and the court issued following order to sheriff on behalf of the creditor,

Writ of Execution:

You have been hereby command to levy on all assets, vehicles, goods, chattels, lands, and tenements of … located at…. until the judgment… is satisfied.


I live with my wife and children. Can the sheriff come to my home and take away anything in my home until the judgment is satisfied? If I want to claim any exceptions, how and when can I claim them? Example, I heard that if my car is worth below $1000, I can keep it; also personal items jointly owned with my wife are exempt.

 

[adjusterjack]

I am the debtor and the court issued following order to sheriff on behalf of the creditor,
Writ of Execution:
You have been hereby command to levy on all assets, vehicles, goods, chattels, lands, and tenements of … located at…. until the judgment… is satisfied.

You must have really pissed off a creditor for it to get that far.

I live with my wife and children. Can the sheriff come to my home and take away anything in my home until the judgment is satisfied?

Pretty much yes.

If I want to claim any exceptions, how and when can I claim them? Example, I heard that if my car is worth below $1000, I can keep it;

I think the way that works is that the sheriff takes the property, sells it and applies the exemption. For example, if your car is worth $1000 and the exemption is $1000, well, he isn't likely to take the car. If the car is worth more than the exemption he would sell the car, give you the exemption and apply the rest to the debt.

As to claiming your exemptions, see 222.061.

Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes : Online Sunshine (state.fl.us)

Read the entire statute.

If you don't own your own home you also get a $4000 exemption for personal property. See 222.25 in that link.

You have 15 days from the date of the order to file your inventory and exemptions.

also personal items jointly owned with my wife are exempt.

Might be something in the statute. I don't have time to read every section. But you should.

By the way, if you and your wife can file bankruptcy before the sheriff comes a knocking, the Writ of Execution goes away.

 

[allenpeter]

Correction/clarification: The sheriff did not come yet to my home to levy anything. What I understood is that 222.061 is applicable after the levy, and I have 15 days to file for exemption after the levy. Could someone let me know if I am correct?

We cannot file bankruptcy.

However, the Writ of execution specified the assets, vehicles, goods, chattels, lands, and tenements of ME located at MY HOME ADDRESS. Fortunately, all personal items in my home are jointly owned between me and my wife and I will file an exemption for those items, within 15 days, if they are levied by the sheriff [Florida provides a special kind of ownership called tenancy by entirety -TBE which is applied to personal property also, thus making the personal property belongs to neither me nor my wife individually but to the “unity”].

When searching internet, I come across Florida Statute 30.30 on levy. http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0000-0099/0030/Sections/0030.30.html "If the sheriff, in attempting to execute any writ describing specific property, shall find it in the possession of anyone, other than the defendant, who is claiming the ownership or the right to the possession thereof, the sheriff, in his or her discretion, may require the plaintiff suing out the writ to furnish a bond, payable to such sheriff, in a sum not exceeding the reasonable value of the described property, as fixed by such sheriff, with sureties satisfactory to him or her conditioned to hold the sheriff harmless against liability for any loss or damage that might be sustained by anyone whomsoever by reason of his or her levying upon such described property, and indemnifying him or her for any expense (including reasonable attorney’s fees) incurred by reason of any such claim. "
Could someone clarify if, during the levy, I and my wife claim that the personal property is TBE then will this be enough to convince the sheriff that the property is in the possession of “…anyone, other than the defendant…” of 30.30(3)?

 

[adjusterjack]

Could someone clarify if, during the levy, I and my wife claim that the personal property is TBE then will this be enough to convince the sheriff that the property is in the possession of “…anyone, other than the defendant…” of 30.30(3)?

And the Sheriff says "I don't believe you. Prove it."

Then what?

 

[allenpeter]

I and my wife will file an affidavit with the court and the sheriff to obtain the TBE exemption and protect the property from the creditor.

 

[allenpeter]

Although I provided my above response (which seems I am wrong: I just wrote based on 222.061), I am still confused and beg your advice on this.

When the sheriff came to my house and I inform him (sheriff) the TBE nature of personal properties (such as sofa, chairs, etc) will the sheriff still take away them? If so, what I need to do to get my TBE properties back? Neither 222.061 nor Florida Statute 30.30 http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0000-0099/0030/Sections/0030.30.html provide the specific procedure.

If I file a motion for hearing with the court claiming the TBE nature of those personal properties then will it be enough (and wheteher the court decides this)?

 

[Zigner]

What is the name of your state? Florida
Does the court permits the judgment creditor to whom I legally owe money to obtain a court order directing the sheriff to enter my home and take whatever items they see?

So many thanks.
I am the debtor and the court issued following order to sheriff on behalf of the creditor,

Writ of Execution:

You have been hereby command to levy on all assets, vehicles, goods, chattels, lands, and tenements of … located at…. until the judgment… is satisfied.


I live with my wife and children. Can the sheriff come to my home and take away anything in my home until the judgment is satisfied? If I want to claim any exceptions, how and when can I claim them? Example, I heard that if my car is worth below $1000, I can keep it; also personal items jointly owned with my wife are exempt.

It's obvious that the court permits the judgment creditor to obtain such an order in your case because the the judgment creditor DID obtain such an order.


Had you actually STARTED by giving us the full information instead of asking a moot question, things would have been much easier.

 

[allenpeter]

Yes Zinger. This is what the writ of execution:

You have been hereby command to levy on all assets, vehicles, goods, chattels, lands, and tenements of (Debtor), in the judgment sum of ($), with legal interest at the rate of (%) a year, from (Month-Day-Year) through the end of (Year), and thereafter shall bear interest at the rate set by the Chief Financial Officer of the State of Florida, and as governed by Florida Statute 55.03, until paid and that you have this before said Court when satisfied.

Kindly note that my name is only stated in place of “Debtor” in the above writ of execution and nothing mentioned about my wife (as I am the only debtor). However, 99% of personal properties (sofa, refrigerator, etc.) in my home are TBE between me and my wife and there is almost nothing belongs to me alone as specified in that writ. The only thing on my name alone is a van which costs around $500 (five hundred) and this is the only vehicle in my home.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Kindly note that my name is only stated in place of “Debtor” in the above writ of execution and nothing mentioned about my wife (as I am the only debtor). However, 99% of personal properties (sofa, refrigerator, etc.) in my home are TBE between me and my wife and there is almost nothing belongs to me alone as specified in that writ.

That's another problem with the creditor trying to get household goods when the debtor is one of a married couple in a state that recognizes TBE — most of those goods will be TBE and thus out of the creditor's reach.