Can a Florida Judge Force a Parent to Sell Their Homestead Residence to Pay Child Support?

One of the most important principles of Florida law is the homestead exemption. Florida’s constitution protects a person’s primary residence (homestead) from forced sale to satisfy a creditor’s claims. In other words, if someone sues you and obtains a money judgment, they cannot make you sell your homestead residence to pay for that judgment.

The homestead exemption broadly applies to all types of creditor claims. This includes debts for alimony and child support. In most cases, a judge cannot force a former spouse or parent to sell their home to pay any back support owed. But there are exceptions.

Fraud, Egregious Conduct May Void Homestead Exemption

In a 1991 case, Gepfrich v. Gepfrich, the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed a trial judge’s order requiring a former husband to sell his homestead property and use the proceeds to pay alimony obligations to his former wife. The trial court essentially found that the former husband had purchased and maintained an expensive home post-divorce in what amounted to a fraudulent effort to get out of paying his alimony obligations. As the Fourth District observed, Florida’s homestead exemption “should not be applied so as to make them an instrument of fraud.”

More recently, in December 2025 the Third District affirmed, without written opinion, a trial court’s order imposing an equitable lien on a father’s property to satisfy an unpaid child support obligation. One judge on the Third District panel wrote a dissenting opinion that provides greater detail on what transpired.

According to Judge Bronwyn C. Miller’s dissent, the parties in this case, Pacin v. Granja, are unmarried parents of a “child with various disabilities.” A trial court entered an order establishing the father’s paternity and ordering him to pay retroactive and ongoing child support. When the father failed to comply with these orders, the mother filed a motion to hold him in civil contempt.

The judge granted the contempt order and ordered the father to pay approximately $160,000 in back child support, legal fees, and court costs. Given what the trial court determined was the father’s “egregious” conduct, the trial court further imposed an equitable lien on the father’s primary residence. The court then appointed a real estate agent to conduct a forced sale of said residence.

The father subsequently paid the $160,000 owed. He then asked to dissolve the lien. The trial court rejected that request, meaning the forced sale of the residence would proceed.

While the majority of the Third District panel upheld this decision, Judge Miller’s dissent noted that since the father paid the money he owed, he had “purged” the civil contempt order and thus a forced sale of his homestead property was no longer necessary or justified under the Florida Constitution.

Contact a Port St. Lucie Child Support Attorney

Unpaid child support is a serious matter and it can lead to a judge imposing extraordinary remedies that go beyond what may be allowed in other kinds of civil cases. That is why if you are involved in such a dispute it is critical to work with a qualified Port St. Lucie child support attorney. Contact Baginski Brandt & Brandt today at 772-466-0707 to schedule a confidential consultation.

Source:

scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=15359695891544793269