Florida Chapter 7 Lawyer

By Robert A. Stiberman, Esq., Member of The Florida Bar since 1998, representing Florida bankruptcy clients since 2009. Last reviewed: June 2026.

If creditors are calling, your wages are being garnished, or you are simply buried under debt you can’t realistically repay, Chapter 7 bankruptcy can give you a clean financial start, often in about four months. The question most Florida filers actually need answered isn’t “What is Chapter 7?” It’s “Do I qualify, and what will I lose?” This page answers both with the specific Florida rules that decide your case.

I’m Robert Stiberman. I’ve practiced bankruptcy law in Florida since 2009, and I’m admitted in all three federal bankruptcy districts in the state, the Southern, Middle, and Northern Districts. Below is the same overview I give clients in a consultation. If you’d rather just talk it through, schedule a free consultation.

What Chapter 7 Actually Does

Chapter 7 is a liquidation bankruptcy. In exchange for surrendering any property the law doesn’t let you protect, the court wipes out, “discharges”, most of your unsecured debt. The reality for most Florida filers is better than that sounds: the vast majority of cases are “no-asset” cases, meaning Florida’s exemptions protect everything the filer owns and they give up nothing. (Source: U.S. Courts, Chapter 7 Basics.)

Two things happen the moment your case is filed:

• The automatic stay turns on. Under 11 U.S.C. § 362, creditors must immediately stop collection: no more calls, lawsuits, wage garnishments, or foreclosure sales while the stay is in effect.
• Your discharge gets scheduled. Most Chapter 7 debtors receive their discharge roughly three to four months after filing, and the case is closed shortly after.

Chapter 7 is designed for people whose income is modest relative to their debt and whose assets consist mostly of everyday essentials. Whether that’s you comes down to two tests: the means test and the exemptions.

Do You Qualify? The Florida Means Test

Chapter 7 is income-qualified. The means test compares your household income to the median for the same household size in Florida.

Step one: the median comparison. If your average gross income over the six months before filing is at or below the Florida median for your household size, you pass and can file. As of the figures effective for cases filed on or after April 1, 2026, the Florida median for a household of four is roughly $105,000–$115,000 per year, with lower thresholds for smaller households. These numbers are updated by the U.S. Trustee about twice a year, so the current figure should always be confirmed at justice.gov/ust before you rely on it.

Step two: if you’re above the median, you’re not automatically disqualified. This is the part many online calculators get wrong. If your income is over the median, the means test then looks at your allowable monthly expenses. Many above-median households, especially those with a mortgage, vehicles, and children, still qualify after expenses are applied. This is exactly where having a lawyer run the full calculation matters, because a surface-level “you make too much” answer is often wrong.

Not sure where you land? Try our free Florida means test calculator for a quick estimate.

Before filing, every individual debtor must also complete an approved credit counseling course within the 180 days prior to filing (11 U.S.C. § 109(h)).

What Chapter 7 Wipes Out, and What It Doesn’t

Typically discharged (gone for good):

• Credit card balances
• Medical bills
• Personal loans and most signature/payday loans
• Past-due utility bills
• Deficiency balances after a repossession or foreclosure
• Most older judgments and collection accounts

Usually NOT discharged:

• Domestic support, child support, and alimony
• Most recent income taxes and all property taxes
• Most student loans (a separate “undue hardship” process exists but is narrow)
• Debts from fraud, theft, or willful injury
• Court fines and most criminal restitution

(Statutory basis: 11 U.S.C. § 523.) If most of what you owe is in the first list, Chapter 7 is likely a strong fit. If the bulk is in the second list, we should discuss whether Chapter 7 or another strategy would actually help you.

What You Keep, Florida’s Bankruptcy Exemptions

This is the question that keeps people from filing, and the news for Florida residents is good: Florida has some of the strongest debtor protections in the country. Florida has opted out of the federal exemptions, so Florida law controls what you protect.

• Your home, the homestead exemption. Florida protects unlimited equity in your homestead, subject to a size limit (up to ½ acre inside a municipality, up to 160 acres outside one) under Art. X, § 4 of the Florida Constitution. One important caveat: a federal cap (currently $214,000, effective April 1, 2025–March 31, 2028) can limit homestead protection if you acquired the home within roughly 1,215 days before filing. For most long-term Florida homeowners, the homestead is fully protected.
• Your car. Florida exempts $5,000 of motor-vehicle equity under Fla. Stat. § 222.25(1), increased from $1,000 effective July 1, 2024 (SB 158).
• Personal property. A base of $1,000 of personal property is exempt under the Florida Constitution.
• The wildcard. If you do not claim the homestead exemption, Florida gives you an additional $4,000 wildcard exemption under Fla. Stat. § 222.25(4), which can be stacked on a car or other property.
• Your wages. If you qualify as head of household, Florida exempts your earnings under Fla. Stat. § 222.11, a powerful protection against garnishment.
• Retirement and more. Qualified retirement accounts (401(k), IRA, pensions), most life-insurance and annuity proceeds, and property owned as tenancy by the entireties (between spouses) receive additional protection.

For a deeper look at protecting your home, see our guide to the Florida homestead exemption in Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Because these protections are generous but technical, the wildcard trade-off and the homestead timing rule trip up filers constantly, making sure every asset is fully disclosed and every exemption you’re lawfully entitled to is properly claimed is where an experienced attorney adds the most value.

The Chapter 7 Process in Florida, Step by Step

1. Pre-filing prep. We complete your credit counseling, gather six months of income, and run the means test and exemptions. (See documents needed to file Chapter 7 and the Chapter 7 bankruptcy forms for Florida.)
2. Filing the petition. The case is filed electronically. The automatic stay starts immediately, stopping garnishments and collections.
3. The trustee is assigned. A court-appointed trustee reviews your schedules to confirm there are no non-exempt assets to administer (in most cases, there are none).
4. The 341 meeting of creditors. About a month after filing, you attend a short meeting where the trustee asks straightforward questions under oath. Creditors rarely appear.
5. Discharge. Roughly three to four months after filing, the court enters your discharge order, and your eligible debts are legally erased.