Tenants by Entireties

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…

Tenancy by entireties property has be acquired property while both spouses are married. That does not mean that property first purchased by a single person cannot become entireties property after the person is married.

When a court finds that a client has improperly taken money from consumers or investors in violation of federal or state laws the court may order restitution to the “victims” . Restitution orders require the debtor to pay money to the government agency on behalf of the victims. Ordinary asset…

Creditors who have a sizable claim against on spouse residing in Florida sometimes will assert creative theories to impose liability on the other spouse so in order to overcome tenants by entireties protection. When a judgment is against only one spouse the debtor spouse may protect all joint marital assets…

Florida property owned by a husband and wife with rights of survivorship is presumed to be “tenants by entireties” property which is protected from the creditors of either spouse, but not protected from joint creditors. If a husband and wife contribute money to a revocable living trust, does the change…

Much has been written about technical procedures for setting up a tenants by entireties account. One of the rules, expressed in several prior court decisions, is that any joint account owned by husband and wife is presumed to be an entireties accounts even if the account title does not state…

A blog reader sent me an email about his Bank of America joint checking account which he and his wife opened many years ago. He says the account was originally titled as “tenants by entireties. Just recently, he saw that BOA unilaterally changed the title on his account to “tenants…

Some states other than Florida have tenants by entireties protection. The protection is not equal among states.

Generally, Florida’s creditor exemptions are expressed in Chapter 222 of the Florida Statutes. The Chapter’s sections list Florida’s premier asset protection exemptions including the exemptions afforded wages, retirement funds and annuities. Sometimes the legislature makes important asset protection changes in various other parts of the Statutes.