Florida HOA brings suit to force 28-year-old woman out of inherited home in over-55 community

A Jacksonville-area homeowners association is asking residents to pay $1,000 each to finance a lawsuit aimed at removing a 28-year-old woman from the home her late father left her.

Influencer Bethany Michel inherited her father's home in Arbor Mill, Florida, a 55-and-over community, after he died in 2023. Michel had lived in the home while caring for her father during his illness and says remaining there is part of honoring his final wish. "We fought to the very end, and the fight is not finished just because my dad is gone," Michel told News4Jax. "I still have the fight left in me."

The HOA argues that while Michel was permitted to live in the community as her father's caregiver, she no longer qualifies to remain because she does not meet the neighborhood's age restrictions. The dispute has intensified after the association proposed a $155,000 special assessment that would require roughly 155 homeowners to contribute about $1,000 each toward legal fees in its effort to remove Michel from the property.

"It's really not about this young lady," resident Patty Acres said. "It's about enforcing the age requirements across the board." Acres, who is herself under 55 but is permitted to live in the community because she resides with her mother, said she understands she would have to leave if her mother died. "If something was to happen to my mom and she was to pass away, I would fully be under the understanding that I would not live here," she said. "No one's excited about the $1,000, but the rules are the rules. If we don't enforce the rules for one, we can't enforce the rules for all."

Acres added that while Michel's father had done "a great honor" by leaving her the home, she believes the property should ultimately be sold because buyers in the community specifically chose to live in a 55-and-over neighborhood. "I am not equipped to deal with this," Michel said. "But being that I've been put in a position to potentially become an advocate for caregivers... maybe even change the laws... it's bittersweet, but it's for a good reason. Whether the outcome is in my favor or not, this needs to be very clear for all homeowners, all 55-plus people with caregivers."

Michel's attorney disputes the HOA's legal position and argues the association's willingness to spend more than $150,000 pursuing the case demonstrates it is far from straightforward. "Any attorney worth their salt will tell you that if the HOA was clearly in the right, it would not cost over $150,000 in attorney's fees to get you removed from the property," the attorney said in a statement.