Motion For Disbursement Of Surplus Funds From Court Registry – What Every Homeowner Who Has Been Foreclosed Needs To Know

If you are named as a Defendant in a foreclosure action where judgment was entered and a sale has occurred, there may still be options- and MONEY available to you. If the purchaser of the property at the foreclosure sale purchased the property for an amount above the final judgment amount there may be surplus funds available to you. Surplus funds are monies above the final judgment and clerk costs, held by the Clerk of Court after a foreclosure sale. For example, if a final judgment of foreclosure was entered in the amount of $100,000.00 and the purchaser at the foreclosure sale purchases the property for $150,000.00 the Clerk of Court will retain $50,000.00 in surplus funds. The Clerk of Court will retain these proceeds and release a Certificate of Disbursement to all parties to the foreclosure action detailing the amounts being held and putting each party on notice of the outstanding funds. The Clerk of Court will retain these funds until an order disbursing them is entered by the presiding Judge.

Florida Statute 45.032 clearly identifies who may file the request for disbursement with the court. Specifically, any owner of record of the property at the time of filing of the Lis Pendens (the commencement of the foreclosure action) may file a motion requesting the monies be released in their name. If no junior lienholders file a motion for disbursement, or there are no junior lienholders and only the owner of the property files a request, then the full amount of surplus held by the Clerk shall be released to the homeowner. Generally, the senior lienholder has no claim to surplus funds, albeit there are some special circumstances. Contact one of our established Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton or Plantation foreclosure attorneys today to evaluate your claim to disbursement.

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