Also known as: tenancies by the entirety · tenancy by entirety · TBE
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A form of concurrent ownership available only to married couples in which each spouse holds an undivided interest in the whole estate. The estate features a right of survivorship that passes full title to the surviving spouse by operation of law upon the death of the other. Neither spouse may unilaterally sever the estate or convey an interest without the consent of the other, and the form is generally immune from attachment by the separate creditors of one spouse.
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Tara Tran and Tristan Thompson held their farmhouse as tenants by the entirety while divorce negotiations were pending. Tara executed a will leaving the farm to her nephew. When Tara died still married and without any severance of the estate, title passed automatically to Tristan.
Theo Thomas conveyed waterfront property to Thaddeus Tran and Tessa Takahashi, husband and wife, together with their descendants engaged in maritime trade. The deed satisfied the requirements for creating a tenancy by the entirety that protected the marital unit from unilateral creditor action.
Travis Tate and Tara Tran received a hangar deed naming them as husband and wife plus their issue employed in aviation. Because the jurisdiction permitted tenancy by the entirety, the conveyance created an indivisible marital estate that neither spouse could encumber alone.
Thaddeus Tran owed federal taxes while holding real property with his wife as tenants by the entirety. The government asserted a lien against the property, and the court examined whether the debtor spouse's interest in the unified estate was reachable under federal law.
Tessa Takahashi conveyed property held with her husband as tenants by the entirety to avoid individual creditors. The court considered whether one spouse's separate judgment could attach to the indivisible marital estate under state law.
Travis Tate and his wife held their home as tenants by the entirety. After filing for divorce but before any decree, Travis executed a will leaving the home to a third party. Upon Travis's death the surviving spouse took full title by operation of law.
Filing for divorce or even obtaining court approval of a proposed property settlement does not automatically sever the tenancy. The estate remains intact until a final divorce decree or other legally effective act changes the form of title.
A will cannot devise an interest in property held as tenants by the entirety because the interest passes by operation of law to the surviving spouse. The attempted devise is ineffective when the tenancy remains unsevered at death.
…49, 60 (1959): It is clear that the Married Women’s Act created an equality between the spouses in New Jersey, insofar as tenancies by the entirety are concerned. If, as we have previously concluded, the husband could alienate his right of survivorship at common law, the wife, by virtue of the act, can alienate her right of…
…of a spouse's interest in entireties property is typically not possible without severance. Unlike joint tenancies
In jurisdictions recognizing the estate, the indivisible nature of the tenancy generally protects the property from attachment by the separate creditors of one spouse. Creditors must obtain a joint judgment or wait until the tenancy ends by death or divorce.
The estate requires the four unities of time, title, interest, and possession plus the unity of marriage. A conveyance must be made to two persons who are husband and wife and may include a designated class of their issue when permitted by state law.
Courts will not impose a constructive trust to circumvent survivorship absent wrongful conduct or unjust enrichment by the surviving spouse. A disappointed devisee's moral claim arising from the testator's intent is insufficient.