Also known as: tenant by the entireties · tenancy by the entireties · tenancy by the entirety · tenancy by entirety
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A concurrent estate in real property held by a married couple as a single legal unit. The spouses together own an indivisible interest that carries an indestructible right of survivorship. Neither spouse may unilaterally alienate or encumber the property while the marriage and the tenancy remain intact.
Tyler Taylor and Tamara Tan held their home as tenants by the entireties. While divorce proceedings were pending Tyler executed a will devising the house to his brother. Tyler died before the divorce became final. Title passed automatically to Tamara by operation of law.
Tessa Takahashi and Theodore Tucker received a deed granting land to them as husband and wife and the heirs of their bodies. The jurisdiction recognizes estates tail and permits tenancy by the entirety. The conveyance created an estate tail held by Tessa and Theodore as tenants by the entireties.
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Talia Torres and Tiana Tan, a married couple, bought a crane as tenants by the entireties and rented it to third parties. They split gross rental receipts equally but maintained separate construction businesses. Their arrangement did not create a partnership under the Uniform Partnership Act.
Thunderbolt Motors conveyed property to Tyler Taylor and Tamara Tan as husband and wife together with their issue. The state recognizes tenancy by the entirety as a permitted concurrent form. The deed satisfied the statutory conditions for creating the estate.
Tundra Resources obtained a federal tax lien against one spouse who held real property with his wife as tenants by the entireties. The Supreme Court held that the spouse's rights in the tenancy constituted property reachable by the lien.
Kokichi Endo and Ume Endo conveyed their home held as tenants by the entireties to their sons after an accident. Creditors later obtained judgments against Kokichi. The court set aside the conveyance as fraudulent because it removed the asset from the reach of creditors.
No. While the tenancy remains intact neither spouse holds a severable share that can be transferred or encumbered without the other's consent. Any attempted unilateral act is ineffective against the surviving spouse's right of survivorship.
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No. The tenancy and its survivorship feature continue until the marriage ends by divorce decree or death. A will executed during pending divorce proceedings cannot override the survivorship right if the spouse dies while still married.
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No. The Uniform Partnership Act expressly provides that joint tenancy, tenancy in common, or tenancy by the entireties does not establish a partnership even when the co-owners share profits from the property.
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Yes. The rights of a tenant by the entirety constitute property or rights to property under federal tax lien statutes even though state law may protect the property from unilateral creditor action.
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…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…