Florida Statute 222.22
“Exemption of assets in qualified tuition programs, medical savings accounts, Coverdell education savings accounts, and hurricane savings accounts from legal process”
What it means
§222.22 shields education and health savings. Money paid into or out of, the assets of, and the income of a qualified tuition program under I.R.C. s. 529 — the Florida Prepaid College Trust Fund included — is not liable to attachment, levy, garnishment, or legal process in favor of a creditor of the purchaser, owner, contributor, or beneficiary.
The same protection covers medical savings and health savings accounts under I.R.C. ss. 220 and 223, and Coverdell education savings accounts under s. 530. A fourth category — hurricane savings accounts, up to twice the homestead's insurance deductibles — takes effect only if the federal government grants those accounts tax-exempt or tax-deferred status, which has not happened.
- 529 plans, Florida Prepaid included, are exempt from legal process against participants, contributors, and beneficiaries.
- Health savings and medical savings accounts under I.R.C. ss. 220 and 223 are exempt.
- Coverdell education savings accounts under I.R.C. s. 530 are exempt.
- The hurricane savings account exemption is written for homestead owners, capped near twice the insurance deductible — and dormant, contingent on federal tax treatment.
How it plays out
When parents die mid-stream, the 529 is usually the one account nobody needs to fight over — creditors cannot reach it, and it already names a beneficiary. We still check ownership: a 529 owned by the decedent needs a successor owner, or control of the account gets sorted through the estate even while the money itself stays exempt. The exemption question and the who-runs-it question are different questions, and only the first one is answered by §222.22.