Florida Asset Forfeiture Defense in Miami

Attorney Dennis Gonzalez has litigated and handled asset forfeiture matters in both Florida state court and federal court. He is a former Miami-Dade prosecutor who has been defending people since 2012. Our office answers 24 hours a day.

For the big picture, including federal forfeiture, see our Asset Forfeiture page.

What Florida Can Try to Forfeit

The Act calls the property a "contraband article." The definition is long. It includes, among other things:

• Controlled substances, and currency or other means of exchange used, attempted to be used, or intended to be used in violation of Florida's drug laws, if the State's facts are clearly sufficient to establish probable cause of a nexus between the item seized and the narcotics activity, whether or not it can be traced to a specific drug transaction.
• Personal property, such as vehicles, vessels, aircraft, money, securities, and negotiable instruments, used or attempted to be used as an instrumentality in committing or aiding any felony, or acquired with proceeds of a violation of the Act.
• Real property used or attempted to be used as an instrumentality in committing or aiding any felony, or acquired with proceeds of a violation of the Act.
• Property acquired with proceeds of Medicaid fraud, and property connected to illegal gambling.

There is also a presumption to know about: when possession of the contraband itself is a felony, the vehicle, vessel, aircraft, or other property it was found in or on is presumed to have been used to facilitate it.

The Arrest Requirement (and Its Exceptions)

Since the 2016 amendments to the Act, Florida law limits when property can be seized at all. A seizure may occur only if the owner of the property is arrested for a criminal offense that forms the basis for calling the property contraband, or one or more of these circumstances apply:

1. The owner cannot be identified after a diligent search, or the person in possession denies ownership and the owner cannot be identified by means available to the officer at the time of the seizure.
2. The owner is a fugitive from justice or is deceased.
3. Someone who is not the owner is arrested for the offense that makes the property contraband, and the owner had actual knowledge of the criminal activity.
4. The owner agrees to be a confidential informant. The agency may not use the threat of seizure or forfeiture to pressure the owner into becoming one.
5. The property is a monetary instrument. The statute defines this to include U.S. or foreign coin or currency, traveler's checks, personal checks, bank checks, cashier's checks, money orders, bank drafts, certain investment securities and negotiable instruments, prepaid or stored value cards or other devices that are the equivalent of money, and gold, silver, or platinum bullion or coins.

That last exception matters in Miami. Cash can be seized even when the owner is not arrested. That is why cash seizures at traffic stops are so common, and why the next steps matter so much.

Step 1: The Judge's Probable Cause Review — 10 Business Days

After a seizure, the seizing agency must apply, within 10 business days after the date of the seizure, to a court for an order determining whether probable cause exists for the seizure. The application must be accompanied by a sworn affidavit.

The court must decide whether the owner was arrested (and if not, whether one of the exceptions applies) and whether probable cause exists for the seizure. If the court finds the requirements were not met, or that probable cause does not exist, any forfeiture hold, lien, lis pendens, or other civil encumbrance must be released within 5 days.

Step 2: Notice and Your Right to an Adversarial Preliminary Hearing

Personal property (cash, cars, boats, and so on). The person entitled to notice must be told, at the time of the seizure or by certified mail, return receipt requested, that there is a right to an adversarial preliminary hearing after the seizure. Notice by certified mail must be mailed within 5 working days after the seizure, and it must state that you may request an adversarial preliminary hearing within 15 days after receiving the notice.

• How to ask: the request must be made in writing by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the seizing agency.
• When it happens: the agency must set and notice the hearing, which must be held within 10 days after the request is received or as soon as practicable thereafter.
• What it decides: whether there is probable cause to believe the property was used, is being used, was attempted to be used, or was intended to be used in violation of the Act. The court reviews the verified affidavit and other supporting documents and takes testimony.

Real property (homes and land). Real property may not be seized or restrained, other than by lis pendens, until the persons entitled to notice have had the opportunity to attend a preseizure adversarial preliminary hearing. Notice is by certified mail, return receipt requested, and the hearing must be held within 10 days of the filing of the lis pendens or as soon as practicable.

If probable cause is found, the court orders the property restrained by the least restrictive means to protect against disposal, waste, or continued illegal use while the case is pending, and may order the claimant to post a bond or other adequate security equivalent to the value of the property.

If no probable cause is found at the adversarial preliminary hearing, the court must award the claimant reasonable attorney's fees and costs, up to a limit of $2,000.

That hearing is often the first real chance to test the agency's case in front of a judge. Fifteen days goes fast.

Step 3: The Forfeiture Complaint — 45 Days

The agency must "promptly proceed," which the Act defines as filing the complaint within 45 days after seizure. The complaint is filed in circuit court, and the agency must pay a filing fee of at least $1,000 and deposit a bond of $1,500 with the clerk. Unless the parties agree otherwise in writing, that bond is payable to the claimant if the claimant prevails in the forfeiture proceeding and any appeal.

Until then, an owner generally cannot sue to get the property back. The Act bars replevin and other actions to recover the property, except that such an action may be maintained if forfeiture proceedings are not initiated within 45 days after the date of seizure. If good cause is shown, the court may extend that prohibition to 60 days.

The complaint must be served as original process on each person with an ownership or security interest when the property is titled or registered, when the owner is known to the agency, or when there is a perfected security interest. The agency must also publish notice for 2 consecutive weeks on a publicly accessible website or, if in print, once each week for 2 consecutive weeks in a qualified newspaper in the county of the seizure.

Step 4: Your Answer — 20 Days

A claimant who wants to contest the forfeiture must file and serve responsive pleadings and affirmative defenses within 20 days after receipt of the complaint and probable cause finding. Missing it puts your defense at risk. The Florida Rules of Civil Procedure govern the case unless the Act says otherwise, and the case is heard by a circuit judge in the civil division.

Step 5: Trial — A Jury and a High Burden

• Jury trial. Any trial on the ultimate issue of forfeiture is decided by a jury, unless the claimant waives that right in writing or on the record.
• Beyond a reasonable doubt. The court orders forfeiture only upon proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the property was being used in violation of the Act. That is the same standard used in criminal trials.
• What the owner knew. Separately, property may not be forfeited unless the agency establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that the owner knew, or should have known after a reasonable inquiry, that the property was being employed or was likely to be employed in criminal activity.

Innocent Owners and Other Protected Interests

The Act protects people who did not take part in the crime:

• Owners: the agency must prove the owner knew or should have known after a reasonable inquiry (see above).
• Lienholders: a bona fide lienholder's interest perfected before the seizure may not be forfeited unless the agency proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the lienholder had actual knowledge, at the time the lien was made, that the property was being employed or was likely to be employed in criminal activity.
• Husband and wife: property titled or registered jointly between husband and wife (using "and," "and/or," or "or") before the seizure may not be forfeited unless the agency proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the co-owner knew or had reason to know, after reasonable inquiry, that it was employed or likely to be employed in criminal activity.
• Other co-owners: the same knew-or-had-reason-to-know rule applies to other joint owners. When a culpable co-owner's interest is forfeited, the remaining co-owners must be given the opportunity to buy that interest from the agency.
• Rental and leasing companies: a vehicle rented or leased from a rental company may not be forfeited unless the agency proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the renter or lessor had actual knowledge, at the time the vehicle was rented or leased, that it was being employed or was likely to be employed in criminal activity.
• Incidental connection defense: it is an affirmative defense that the connection between the property and the underlying violation was incidental or entirely accidental.

Getting the Property Back and Getting Paid for the Loss

• If you win and the agency does not appeal, the property must be released immediately to the person the court finds entitled to it, and the agency may not charge towing, storage, administrative, or maintenance costs.
• Loss of value and lost income. When the claimant prevails at trial or on appeal and the agency kept the property during the case, the court must require the agency to pay the reasonable loss of value of the property, and any loss of income directly attributed to the continued seizure of income-producing property.
• Attorney's fees. Besides the up-to-$2,000 award after a no-probable-cause finding, when the claimant prevails at the close of the case and any appeal, the court shall award reasonable trial attorney's fees and costs if it finds the agency did not proceed in good faith at any stage, or that the action that started the forfeiture was a gross abuse of the agency's discretion. The Act also says nothing in that subsection prevents any party from seeking fees and costs under chapter 57 or other applicable law.
• Damage and storage. Unless the parties agree otherwise in writing, the agency seeking forfeiture is responsible for any damage to the property and any storage fees or maintenance costs. The agency may not use the property for any purpose until title is perfected, except as needed for reasonable maintenance.

Settlements

Many Florida forfeiture cases settle. The Act adds protections: every settlement must be personally approved by the head of the seizing agency (or a designated subordinate if the head is unavailable and delay would hurt the settlement), and the settlement must be reviewed by the court or by an agreed mediator or arbitrator unless the claimant waives that review in writing. If the claimant has no lawyer, the agreement must say the claimant freely and voluntarily agreed to it without the benefit of counsel.

Do not sign a settlement or a waiver before a lawyer reviews it.

The Rules Agencies Must Follow

The Act also states Florida's policy: the potential for obtaining revenue from forfeitures must not override fundamental considerations such as public safety, officer safety, or the investigation and prosecution of crime, and officers must respect constitutional limits on searches and seizures, including the illegal use of stops based on a pretext, coercive-consent searches, and searches based solely on race or ethnicity. Among other requirements:

• The decision to seize currency must be made by supervisory personnel, and the agency's lawyer must be notified as soon as possible.
• Probable cause for every seizure must be promptly reviewed by supervisors, and agency counsel must review legal sufficiency.
• An officer's pay or promotion may not depend on meeting a seizure quota.
• Agencies must report their seizures and forfeitures annually to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and an agency that fails to comply can face a civil fine of $5,000.

When an agency skipped a step, that can matter in your case. If the stop or search itself was illegal, see Motions to Suppress.

Recent Changes (2024–2026)

As of the 2026 Florida Statutes, the sections that set the owner's rights and the procedure (sections 932.701 through 932.704) were not amended in 2024, 2025, or 2026. The only recent amendments to the Act were to the section on how certain state agencies deposit forfeiture proceeds: in 2024 the Legislature added the Florida Gaming Control Commission, and in 2025 it updated the name of a Department of Financial Services division. Neither change affects owners' rights or deadlines.

Florida Forfeiture and the Criminal Case

A Florida forfeiture case is a civil case, but it usually travels with a criminal case. The same stop, the same search, and the same witnesses show up in both. Statements made in the forfeiture case can be used in the criminal case. And charges that often come with forfeiture, such as drug trafficking and money laundering, carry their own serious penalties. We plan both cases together. If a family member is in custody, see Bond & Nebbia Hearings.

Why Choose Dennis Gonzalez Law, P.A.

• Forfeiture experience in both courts. Attorney Dennis Gonzalez has litigated and handled asset forfeiture matters in both Florida state court and federal court.
• Former Miami-Dade prosecutor.
• Defending people since 2012.
• Super Lawyers recognition and an Avvo Rating of 10.0.
• Bilingual office — se habla español.
• We answer 24 hours a day. Call (305) 209-0384.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do I have to ask for a hearing in Florida?

If you received notice by certified mail, the notice must say you may request an adversarial preliminary hearing within 15 days after receiving it. The request must be in writing, by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the seizing agency.

Can they take my cash if I wasn't arrested?

Yes. Florida allows a seizure only if the owner is arrested for the offense that makes the property contraband, or a listed exception applies, and money and other monetary instruments are one of those exceptions.

What does the agency have to prove?

At trial, the court orders forfeiture only upon proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the property was used in violation of the Act. The agency must also prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the owner knew or should have known after a reasonable inquiry that the property was being used, or was likely to be used, in criminal activity.

Do I get a jury?

Yes. A trial on the ultimate issue of forfeiture is decided by a jury unless you waive that right.

If I win, who pays my lawyer?

It depends. The court must award up to $2,000 in fees and costs if it finds no probable cause at the adversarial preliminary hearing. After a win at trial, the court must award reasonable trial fees and costs if the agency did not act in good faith or grossly abused its discretion. Other fee laws may also apply.

How fast can you help?

Our office answers 24 hours a day. Call (305) 209-0384.