Types of Joint Property Ownership in Florida

Florida recognizes three forms of joint property ownership: tenancy in common, joint tenancy with survivorship, and tenancy by the entirety. The three forms differ in creditor protection, survivorship rights, and transfer restrictions.

Choosing the wrong form can expose property to creditors, force unnecessary probate, or defeat the asset protection a married couple assumed they had. The distinctions are especially consequential for real estate deeds and financial account applications, where a single checkbox can determine whether an asset is protected or vulnerable.

What Is Tenancy in Common?

Tenancy in common is Florida’s default form of co-ownership. Under Section 689.15, any conveyance to two or more people creates a tenancy in common unless the instrument says otherwise. A deed listing two names with no further designation produces tenants in common—not joint tenancy and not tenancy by the entirety.

Each tenant in common holds a separate, divisible interest in the property. Those interests do not need to be equal. One owner might hold a 70% share and another 30%, or three owners might each hold one-third.

Each tenant in common can sell, mortgage, or transfer their interest without the other co-owners’ consent. A tenant in common can leave their interest to any beneficiary through a will or trust. When a tenant in common dies, their share does not pass to the other co-owners. It passes through probate under their will or Florida’s intestacy statutes.

Tenancy in common provides no creditor protection. A judgment creditor can levy on the debtor’s interest and file a partition action under Chapter 64 of the Florida Statutes to force a sale. The court orders the property sold at auction and divides the proceeds by ownership percentage. The non-debtor co-owners receive their share but lose the property itself.

What Is Joint Tenancy with Right of Survivorship?

Joint tenancy with right of survivorship is a form of co-ownership where each owner holds an equal, undivided interest and surviving owners automatically inherit a deceased owner’s share. The abbreviation JTWROS appears on deeds and financial account applications.

When one joint tenant dies, their interest passes immediately to the surviving joint tenants by operation of law. The deceased owner’s will, trust, and heirs have no claim. If three people own property as JTWROS and one dies, the remaining two each own half. When the second dies, the sole survivor owns the entire property.

How Is JTWROS Created in Florida?

Florida law requires four unities to establish a valid joint tenancy with right of survivorship. Unity of time means all joint tenants must acquire their interests simultaneously. Unity of title requires all interests to come through the same instrument. Unity of interest demands equal shares. Unity of possession requires equal rights to use the entire property.

Because Section 689.15 makes tenancy in common the default, creating JTWROS requires express language in the deed or account documentation. A deed naming two owners without specifying “joint tenants with right of survivorship” creates a tenancy in common instead. This is one of the most common titling errors in Florida real estate.

Does JTWROS Provide Creditor Protection?

Joint tenancy with right of survivorship provides no asset protection. A judgment creditor of one joint tenant can levy on that owner’s interest and force a sale. The purchaser at the execution sale becomes a tenant in common with the remaining co-owners, severing the joint tenancy as to the sold interest.

This risk is most dangerous when parents add an adult child to their property title as JTWROS for estate planning purposes. The child’s creditors can reach the child’s interest and force a sale that displaces the parents from their home. Adding a child to a deed may also trigger Medicaid look-back problems if either parent later needs long-term care. Medicaid can treat the addition as an uncompensated gift.

Can a Joint Tenant Sever the Tenancy?

Any joint tenant can unilaterally sever the joint tenancy by transferring their interest to a third party or even to themselves. The transfer destroys the four unities and converts the ownership to a tenancy in common as to the transferred share. The remaining joint tenants retain JTWROS among themselves, but the new owner holds their share without survivorship rights.

One joint tenant can sever without the consent or knowledge of the other co-owners. This ability is a serious planning risk: one owner can secretly convey their interest, destroying the survivorship arrangement the other owners depend on.

What Is Tenancy by the Entirety?

Tenancy by the entirety is a form of joint ownership available exclusively to married couples. It shares the survivorship feature of JTWROS but adds two protections that make it far stronger: neither spouse can unilaterally transfer or encumber the property, and creditors of only one spouse cannot reach the property at all.

The legal theory treats the married couple as a single owner rather than two individuals with separate interests. Neither spouse owns a divisible half—each spouse owns the entire property simultaneously with the other. Because no individual interest exists, there is nothing for a creditor of one spouse to attach.

How Is Tenancy by the Entirety Created?

Tenancy by the entirety requires two additional unities beyond the four required for JTWROS: marriage and survivorship. The couple must be legally married when they acquire the property, and the ownership must include automatic survivorship.

For real estate, Florida presumes that property acquired jointly by a married couple is held as tenants by the entirety. For bank accounts, Section 655.79 creates a statutory presumption that a joint spousal account is tenancy by the entirety unless the couple specifies otherwise in writing. For other personal property, the couple must demonstrate their intent to hold the property as tenants by the entirety.

#### The Section 689.11 Exception

Florida Statutes Section 689.11 addresses a specific problem: when one spouse owns real property individually and wants to convert it to entireties ownership. Under the general rule, a deed from one spouse to both spouses would fail the unity of time requirement because the spouses did not acquire their interests simultaneously. Section 689.11 eliminates that problem. A deed from one spouse to both spouses creates a valid tenancy by the entirety without an intervening third-party conveyance.

This exception applies only to real property. For financial accounts, the Florida Supreme Court’s 2025 decision in Loumpos v. Bank One held that adding a spouse to an existing bank account and executing a new signature card is sufficient to create tenancy by the entirety.

Why Is Tenancy by the Entirety the Strongest Protection?

Florida property held as tenants by the entirety is completely immune from creditors of either individual spouse. A judgment creditor of one spouse cannot lien, attach, levy on, or force the sale of entireties property. The creditor has no remedy against the property during both spouses’ lifetimes.

This protection extends to real estate, bank accounts, brokerage accounts, vehicles, tax refunds, and LLC membership interests. Married couples who title assets correctly can shield most of their net worth from individual creditors without any planning cost.

Two exceptions apply. First, creditors who hold judgments against both spouses jointly can reach entireties property. Creditors know this and routinely require both spousal signatures on contracts and personal guarantees to defeat entireties protection. Second, federal tax liens attach to entireties property under the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Craft, regardless of state law. The IRS is the one creditor that can pierce tenancy by the entirety protection.

How Do the Three Ownership Types Compare?

Feature	Tenants in Common	JTWROS	Tenants by the Entirety
Who can use it	Any co-owners	Any co-owners	Married couples only
Equal shares required	No	Yes	Yes (each owns 100%)
Survivorship	No	Yes	Yes
Probate required at death	Yes	No	No
Unilateral transfer allowed	Yes	Yes (severs tenancy)	No
Creditor protection	None	None	Complete (individual creditors)
Default in Florida	Yes (§ 689.15)	No (must be express)	Yes (married couples’ real property)
Can be severed by one owner	Yes (partition)	Yes (conveyance)	No (requires both spouses)

What Are Common Errors That Create the Wrong Ownership Type?

Married couples frequently open bank or brokerage accounts and select “joint with right of survivorship” instead of “tenants by the entirety.” The selection looks like a formality, but it determines whether the account receives creditor protection. Florida’s statutory presumption under Section 655.79 provides a safety net for spousal bank accounts, but brokerage and investment accounts at firms outside Florida may not recognize the presumption. Selecting the correct account titling is the surest protection.

Deed errors are equally dangerous. When a couple purchases a home, the closing agent prepares the deed. If the deed says “husband and wife” or “as joint tenants with right of survivorship” instead of “as tenants by the entirety,” the couple may not receive the ownership form they expected. Florida’s presumption favoring entireties ownership covers many of these mistakes, but relying on a presumption rather than express language invites litigation when a creditor challenges the titling.

What Happens When Joint Ownership Ends?

Tenancy in common ends when one co-owner buys out the others, when all co-owners agree to sell, or when a court orders partition. Any tenant in common can file a partition action at any time. The court will either physically divide the property or—more commonly for homes and developed land—order it sold and the proceeds divided.

Joint tenancy with right of survivorship ends when a joint tenant conveys their interest, severing the tenancy. It also ends when all surviving owners agree to terminate or when only one survivor remains. Divorce between married JTWROS owners converts their ownership to tenancy in common under Section 689.15.

Tenancy by the entirety ends only through divorce, death, or joint agreement to convey the property. Divorce automatically converts tenancy by the entirety to tenancy in common, eliminating both the survivorship feature and the creditor protection. Death of either spouse vests full ownership in the survivor by operation of law, bypassing probate.