Hialeah Attorney
Attorney for Hialeah Homeowners and Families
Hialeah is a city of family households. According to U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts (2020-2024 American Community Survey), 92.6 percent of Hialeah residents age 5 and older speak a language other than English at home, 74.5 percent are foreign-born, and households average 2.91 people. This page covers the questions that follow the family home: whose name is on the deed, whether the homestead exemption was filed, and what happens to the home after a divorce or a death. Arturo R. Alfonso P.A. has handled Miami-Dade real estate, family law, and bankruptcy matters in English and Spanish for 30 years from an office at 7821 Coral Way. Call (305) 266-9584 or request a free consultation.
Homestead Filings and Family Deeds in Hialeah
Florida’s homestead property tax exemption is not automatic. An owner who holds title on January 1 and makes the home a permanent residence must apply to the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser by March 1 (Fla. Stat. 196.011). Missing it waives the exemption for that year unless a narrow late-filing exception applies. The deed must be recorded before the exemption can be granted (Fla. Stat. 196.031(1)(a)). Once it is in place, the Save Our Homes cap limits each year’s increase in assessed value to 3 percent or the change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower (Fla. Stat. 193.155(1)).
That cap is why a family deed deserves a careful look. The Census Bureau puts the median value of an owner-occupied Hialeah home at $392,000 for 2020-2024, and a home that loses its cap is reassessed at full just value the next January 1. Under Fla. Stat. 193.155(3), a sale or transfer of title is generally a “change of ownership” that triggers the reset. Exceptions include transfers between spouses or due to a divorce, transfers by operation of law to a surviving spouse or minor child, and a deed in which the owner is both grantor and grantee and adds other grantees, which is how an enhanced life estate or “lady bird” deed reads, unless an added person applies for a homestead exemption on the property.
A married owner’s spouse must also join in a deed of the homestead, even if the spouse is not on the title (Fla. Const. art. X, s. 4(c)). Read more about adding or removing someone from a deed, lady bird deeds, and our real estate law services.
Courts, Filings, and Local Rules for Hialeah Residents
Hialeah cases belong to the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, and the Miami-Dade Clerk keeps an office in the city: the Hialeah District Court at 11 E. 6th Street, whose listed services include small claims, landlord and tenant disputes, and domestic violence petitions (intake in Room 105). The Census Bureau puts Hialeah’s owner-occupied housing rate at 46.6 percent for 2020-2024, so most occupied homes are rented. Divorce, custody, and support cases go to the Family Division at the Lawson E. Thomas Courthouse Center, 175 NW 1st Avenue in downtown Miami. See domestic violence injunctions, evicting a tenant, and our family law services.
Homestead rules also limit wills. If the owner leaves a spouse or a minor child, the home generally cannot be left by will, except to the spouse when there is no minor child (Fla. Stat. 732.4015). If it was not validly devised and the owner leaves a spouse and descendants, the spouse takes a life estate and the descendants the remainder, unless the spouse elects within 6 months of the death to take a one-half interest as a tenant in common (Fla. Stat. 732.401). Heirs who sell usually need a court order determining homestead status before a title company will insure the sale; read about selling a house in probate.
Bankruptcy cases are filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida, Miami division. Florida’s constitution protects a homestead of up to one-half acre inside a municipality such as Hialeah with no dollar limit (Fla. Const. art. X, s. 4(a)(1)), although federal law caps equity acquired during the 1,215 days before filing (11 U.S.C. 522(p)), and the exemption does not defeat a mortgage or a property tax lien. See will I lose my house in bankruptcy and our bankruptcy law services.
Common Questions
When do I file for the homestead exemption on a Hialeah home? By March 1, with the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser, for a home you owned and made your permanent residence on January 1. Late applications are accepted only in limited circumstances.
Will adding my son or daughter to my deed raise my property taxes? It depends on the deed. A deed that transfers the home away from you generally resets the assessed value. A deed in which you are both grantor and grantee and add your child generally does not, as long as you keep the exemption and your child does not apply for one on the property.
Contact Us
Whether you are filing for the homestead exemption, changing a family deed, dividing a home in a divorce, or weighing bankruptcy, Attorney Alfonso can review your documents in English or Spanish. Hablamos español. Call (305) 266-9584 or contact us to schedule a free consultation.
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