Recently, I received a call from a prospective client who wanted to know if they are still entitled to receiving a portion of the Florida foreclosure surplus funds that may be available after the recent Florida foreclosure auction of their marital home despite being divorced. The answer to this is a tricky one because it really depends on who was awarded said property during the divorce or if they were ordered to sell the property and divide the proceeds equally. Before I go any further, I’d like to provide a brief explanation on Florida foreclosure surplus funds for those who are unfamiliar with the topic.
In Florida, when a property is sold at a foreclosure auction, there is a possibility for what are known as surplus funds to be available. Florida Statute 45.032(1)(c) defines surplus funds as “the funds remaining after payment of all disbursements required by the final judgment of foreclosure and shown on the certificate of disbursements.” For Example: If a final judgment of foreclosure is entered against a Florida property in a Florida foreclosure action in the amount of $50,000 and the property is sold at foreclosure auction in the amount of $100,000, then there will be a surplus of funds in the amount of $50,000 for the former Homeowner(s) to claim! Florida Statute 45.032(2) states “[t]here is established a rebuttable legal presumption that the owner of record on the date of the filing of a lis pendens is the person entitled to surplus funds after payment of subordinate lienholders who have timely filed a claim.” Therefore, meaning that the former Homeowner(s) is/are entitled to filing a claim for the surplus funds are available.
Now that there is a better understanding of what Florida foreclosure surplus funds are when it comes to divorced parties looking to file a claim for said funds, it will commonly rely on the divorce decree and how the property was divided or whom it was awarded to. If the property was awarded to just one of the parties, then that party will solely be entitled to the surplus funds that are available. However, if the property was to be sold with the proceeds divided in a certain way; then the surplus funds will have to be distributed in the same manner.
If you have been divorced and have been notified that there are surplus funds available after the Florida foreclosure auction of your property or if your property has been sold at Florida foreclosure auction and would like to know if there are surplus funds available to be claimed; then please give me a call and I will personally give you a free consultation. During our consultation, I will confirm whether there are surplus funds available to be recovered as well as answer any questions that you may have. If there are surplus funds available to be recovered, then I will also provide you with a personalized strategy as to how we can assist you with the recovery of YOUR Florida foreclosure surplus funds.
At Haynes Law Group, P.A., we are well-versed in the Florida statutes governing Florida homeowners’ claims to Florida foreclosure surplus funds and have helped to recover millions of dollars for former Florida homeowners. We represent former homeowners all over the state of Florida, no matter which county they are in, and will work tirelessly to ensure that you receive the Gold Standard of Legal Service.