Tenancy by entireties is an effective, simple, and economical asset protection tool for a married Florida debtor where only one of the married spouses has creditor issues. The primary problem with T by E protection is that its effectiveness last only so long as the debtor is married to the…
Often, a high-risk professional will title all assets in the name of their non-professional spouse as an asset protection plan. The professional thinks they are a lawsuit target, but in the event they are sued, they could tell their adversary that they “have nothing in my name.” It’s a simple…
Husband and wife open a joint bank account at a Florida bank, and on the signature card, they pencil in the words “tenants by entireties” to express their intent that the account be an exempt entireties account. Subsequently, the deposit in the account money from another joint bank account and…
Tenancy by entireties ownership requires certain characteristics. One requirement is that husband and wife must acquire their interest in the entireties asset simultaneously.
A reader posed an interesting question about tenants by entireties protection. The reader, a man, is a U.S. citizen married to a non-citizen wife. The reader stated that he currently resided in a foreign country with his new wife.
A frequent question concerns protection of a debtor’s furniture, cloths, and other property located in the debtor’s primary residence. Personal property located within the homestead is not protected by Florida’s homestead laws which pertain only to real property.
The general rule is that property owned by a husband and wife as joint tenants with rights of survivorship is presumed to be a tenancy by the entireties (“TE”) which is protected from the individual debts of either spouse. I received an email question about a property owned by a…
I received a phone call from an attorney in California who works for the dark side of the force. He is trying to collect a large judgment from a Florida debtor. The debtor, who is married, owns an expensive building lot jointly with his spouse.
A caller from Kentucky asked about asset protection of several rental properties located in Florida and owned jointly with his wife. The caller was facing a potential civil judgment against him individually, but his wife was not named in the lawsuit.
It may be impossible to own a automobile as tenants by entireties in the State of Florida based on a decision entered December 3, 2004, by the Fifth District Court of Appeal in the case of Vongsack Xayavong and Damomonh Xayavong v. Sunny Gifts, Inc.
