Exemption of Annuities in Florida

Annuities issued to citizens or residents of Florida are generally exempt from the creditors of the beneficiary of the annuity. Florida Statute section 222.14 provides that "the proceeds of annuity contracts issued to citizens or residents of the state,  upon whatever form, shall not in any case be liable to attachment, garnishment         or legal process in favor of any creditor ... of the person who is the beneficiary of such annuity contract, unless the  ... annuity contract was effected for the benefit of such creditor.

Some questions in the application of this statute arise, such as what t constitutes an "annuity" and what is a "beneficiary".
A recent case dealt with a situation where annuities were awarded to the ex-wife as part of a final judgment of divorce.  Connor v. Seaside National Bank, 2014 WL 1245340 (5th DCA 2014). The question presented was whether the ex-wife was a "beneficiary" of the annuity contract and therefore exempt.  While the annuities were in the process of being transferred to her, one of her creditors served a writ of garnishment on the annuity company.  The Florida Court of Appeals found that the annuities were exempt under section 222.14 as it found her to be the "beneficiaries" of the annuity contracts even though they were still in the process of being transferred into her name.   The Court noted that the statute did not define the term "beneficiary" and therefore looked to the term's ordinary meaning, which it found to be a "party who will benefit from a transfer of property or other arrangement." The Court found that the ex-wife was a "beneficiary" as she was entitled to payment of the proceeds of the annuities in accordance with the divorce judgment. Jordan E. Bublick is a Miami Bankruptcy Lawyer with over 25 years of experience in filing Chapter 13 and Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Cases and Mortgage Modifications (305) 891-4055