Also known as: tenancy by the entireties · tenancy by entireties · entireties tenancy by · tenancy in entireties · tenancy by entirety · estate by entireties
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A concurrent estate in real or personal property held exclusively by a husband and wife. The estate features an indestructible right of survivorship and generally shields the property from unilateral severance by one spouse or from the claims of that spouse's individual creditors.
Elliot Edmonds and Ella Emerson, a married couple, purchased a crane as tenants by the entireties and rented it to third parties while splitting gross receipts equally. They maintained completely separate construction businesses with distinct clients, employees, and accounts. When a dispute arose over whether their arrangement created a partnership, the court held that their tenancy by the entireties in the crane did not by itself establish one.
Kokichi Endo and Ume Endo held their home as tenants by the entireties. After an accident exposing Kokichi to liability, the couple conveyed the property to their sons without consideration. Judgment creditors later sought to set aside the transfer, but the tenancy by the entireties protected the property from the husband's individual creditors until his death.
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A husband and wife held frozen preembryos under an agreement that referenced their tenancy by the entireties in other marital assets. Upon divorce the wife sought to implant the preembryos, but the court treated the tenancy by the entireties framework as preserving equal spousal control that could not be overridden by one party's unilateral wishes after separation.
No. The Uniform Partnership Act expressly provides that tenancy by the entireties does not by itself establish a partnership even when co-owners share profits from the property.
Generally no. The estate protects the property from the claims of one spouse's individual creditors because neither spouse can unilaterally alienate or encumber the interest.
Tenancy by the entireties cannot be severed unilaterally by one spouse and is not subject to individual creditor claims, whereas a standard joint tenancy allows severance by conveyance and exposes each interest to the tenant's creditors.
No. The Code expressly states that its provisions on multiple-party accounts and powers of appointment do not affect the law governing tenancy by the entireties.
…Sawadas appeal. I The determinative question in this case is, whether the interest of one spouse in real property, held in tenancy by the entireties, is subject to levy and execution by his or her individual creditors. This issue is one of first impression in this jurisdiction. A brief review of the present state of the tenancy by the…