Determining the time of head of family status

[adjusterjack]

My take home income is 1100 +/- per week after income tax withholding and social security withholding.

And you provide for

more than one-half of the support for a child or other dependent. (Your husband.)

If your creditor filed for wage garnishment today you would be exempt from garnishment. You would have to file an affidavit with the court and request a hearing on your claim for exemption.

claim-of-exemption-form.pdf (state.fl.us)

At the hearing you would present documentation of your expenses and your husband's unemployment history.

Your income from the land is not considered because it doesn't fit into the definition of earnings in the statute.

Showing the judge a case decision would be meaningless because he's not going to make a decision based on a case decision. He already knows the rules. He'll make a decision based on your affidavit and documentation.

That your husband doesn't work would seem to indicate that you qualify for the exemption now.

If, at some future date the creditor files for wage garnishment, you file the affidavit, get your hearing, and submit documentation. If your financial condition remains the same you should be able to qualify. If your financial condition changes then who knows. No sense speculating until it happens.

I really hope I have made this clearer now.

 

[rebecca9]

Many thanks to you both (including for sending link to the form). Now it is clearer to me.

In general, if and when to prove that I am head of family (once the creditor sent notice of garnishment or so), do I need to file copies of our (I and my husband’s joint) tax returns, bank statements, etc. to the court and (if so anyone can access those documents form court website) (I prefer not to reveal them to public unless I need to file with the court as part of legal process) or can I give those documents directly to judge and other party during the hearing?

To generalize this matter further, how (and whether it is possible) to reveal financially sensitive documents (like tax, bank statements, etc) to the court without filing them with the court (once filed, anyone can access them).

 

[adjusterjack]

Sorry, but any evidence you submit to the court is going to become part of your case file.

I seriously doubt that anybody will be looking into your case file, except maybe other creditors if you have them.

You can't have your cake and eat it. If you are determined to avoid paying your debt, you accept the consequences of your private stuff being made public.

If you want to avoid all that, then pay your debt.

It's that simple.

 

[rebecca9]

Can I redact part or full of social security number, credit card number, bank account number, and any other non-essential data (which does not make any change the judge’s decision making) in the files I file? I can show non-redacted ones to judge if he/she wants for any verification purposes.

 

[Zigner]

Are you still talking about the purely hypothetical situation that has been posited as occurring in 2025?

 

[adjusterjack]

Can I redact part or full of social security number, credit card number, bank account number, and any other non-essential data (which does not make any change the judge’s decision making) in the files I file? I can show non-redacted ones to judge if he/she wants for any verification purposes.

You'll have to ask the judge when the year 2525 comes around.

 

[rebecca9]

Much appreciated and thanks.

I just used the Year 2025 as an example to explain about a possible future time at which the creditor may try to garnish my salary. A creditor can try to garnish my salary at any time but the creditor has not done it until today: I don’t know what the creditor will do tomorrow.