Survivorship Deed and Joint Bank Account with Credit Card Debt

[Mermaidgirl]

My question involves estate proceedings in the state of: Florida

My grandfather and I are joint owners of a bank account that only receives his income from the RRB and the VA. We want to list his home as joint tenants with rights of survivorship to me. From my understanding, this will make both the bank account and the home avoid probate.

My grandfather wants to get a credit card for a small amount, maybe 5k, to help make repairs on the house so it can be rented out while he is in a facility. My question is, what happens if he were to pass before paying the debt off completely if his is the only name on the card?

If the credit card or collection agency were to receive a judgement, could they either levy the bank account or put a lien on the house? I think that payments like he is receiving are exempt from judgements, am I correct? What about any rental payments if we were able to rent it out? And does the survivorship deed get priority over a judgement? The money in the bank account and the home are the only assests he has.

[Mr. Knowitall]

If somebody dies when they owe money on a credit card, their estate is responsible for the debt. Money in the decedent's bank accounts is an asset of the estate, and it no longer matters whether or not their money came from an exempt source. It may be possible for creditors to make a claim against joint tenancy property. Although unlike some states Florida does not appear to have a law that specifically gives creditors the right to pursue joint assets that pass through a right of survivorship, depending on the dates it may be possible for the creditor to attack the transfer as a fraudulent conveyance in order to pursue the value that was transferred out of the estate in order to make the debt uncollectable.