Tenants by Entireties

In general, personal property acquired jointly by spouses in Florida is presumed to be owned as tenants by entireties. However, the rules can get tricky when it comes to opening a tenants by entireties bank account. There are many instances of people who incorrectly believed they had established exempt joint marital bank accounts and later…

Suppose a husband and wife own personal property, a bank account for example, jointly with rights of survivorship in a state that does not recognize tenants by entireties ownership of personal property, and they intend to move to Florida. Florida recognizes tenants by entireties of personal property, and under Florida law all personal property owned by married…

Florida law protecting tenants by entireties bank accounts from garnishment against one spouse is based mostly on the Florida Supreme Court decision in the Beal Bank case. Most attorneys, on the debtor and creditor sides, believe that case established the rule that marital joint accounts with rights of survivorship are presumed to be owned as…

Tenants by entireties assets are not protected from either spouse’s IRS debts. If the IRS acquires an income tax lien on one spouse who had filed separately the IRS lien attaches to the delinquent spouse’s interest in tenants by entireties property. The U.S. Supreme Court held that tenants by entireties property may not be immune…

People who are moving to Florida often want to examine the exemption of their previously acquired assets under Florida law. The status of previously opened joint bank accounts is particularly confusing for people relocating in Florida. Consider the common situation where prior to moving to Florida married couple open a joint bank account in their…

Courts have discussed, and disagreed, whether a individual judgment debtors interest in a joint marital federal tax refund is protected tenants by entireties property. The U.S. Supreme Court held that the IRS may garnish a joint marital tax refund to collect taxes owed by either spouse individually. Some bankruptcy courts in Florida, citing the U.S….

Courts have discussed, and disagreed, whether a individual judgment debtors interest in a joint marital federal tax refund is protected tenants by entireties property. The U.S. Supreme Court held that the IRS may garnish a joint marital tax refund to collect taxes owed by either spouse individually. Some bankruptcy courts in Florida, citing the U.S….

Tenants by entireties bank accounts are exempt under Florida law and cannot be garnished by a creditor of either spouse. However, entireties accounts of Florida residents are more difficult to enforce in courts outside of Florida. A creditor of one of our clients is attempted a creative way to garnish the client’s entireties account. The…

The general rule is that married accounts with rights of survivorship are presumed to owned by married couples as tenants by entireties unless the couple has disclaimed entireties ownership on the account application or elsewhere. The most common disclaimer of entireties protection occurs when a debtor selects the incorrect ownership on a financial institution’s account…