Picture

   
    
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
(781) 843-5034
contact@herbstlawgroup.com
  Herbst Law Group, LLC
  • Home
  • Our Firm
    • Who We Are >
      • Peter C. Herbst Jr.
      • Briana N. Capshaw
  • Services
    • Estate Planning
    • Estate and Trust Administration
    • Elder Law
    • Business Succession Planning
  • News
  • Contact
  • Review
  • Payment
  • updateguide

Special Ownership for Married Couples: Tenancy by the Entirety

12/26/2019

0 Comments

 
Married couples have a special way to jointly own property in some states including Massachusetts that has advantages over regular joint ownership. If you are married and own property jointly, you should make sure you have the right form of ownership. 

Joint tenants must have equal ownership interests in the property. If one of the joint tenants dies, his or her interest immediately ceases to exist and the remaining joint tenant owns the entire property. The advantage to joint tenancy is that it avoids having an owner's interest probated upon his death. The disadvantage is that creditors can attach one tenant's property to satisfy the other’s debt. 

Some states give married couples another option to own property jointly and avoid probate, but also have protection from creditors. Tenancy by the entirety has the same right of survivorship as a joint tenancy, but one spouse cannot sell his or her interest without the other spouse's permission. The creditors of one spouse cannot attach the property or force its sale to recover debts unless both spouses consent. Creditors may place a lien on property held in tenancy by the entirety, but if the debtor dies before the other spouse, the other spouse takes ownership of the property free and clear of the debt. This is why if you have a tenancy by the entirety, both the husband and wife are required to sign the mortgage on their property for the mortgage to be valid. 

Tenancy by the entirety is available in half of all states and the District of Columbia. Some states recognize it for all property; other states only recognize it for real estate. States with tenancy by the entirety are: Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, and Wyoming. 
​
If you own joint property with a spouse in a state with tenancy by the entirety, you should check to make sure the property is owned as tenants by the entirety. In addition, unmarried couples who buy property and subsequently marry each other should check if they can re-title the deed as tenants by the entirety to avail themselves of the greater protections this form of tenancy offers.


0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    meet the attorneys

    Peter C. Herbst Jr
    Picture
    Areas of focus: estate planning, estate & trust administration and elder law. 
    Briana N. Capshaw
    Picture
    Areas of focus: estate planning, estate & trust administration, and 
    elder law.

    Archives

    December 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    April 2017
    May 2015

    Categories

    All
    Elder Law
    Estate Administration
    Estate Planning
    Informal Probate
    MassHealth Planning
    Real Estate

    RSS Feed

in the news

Stay informed

Sign-up to receive emails from Herbst Law Group, LLC and stay informed about important news and events:

SIGN UP NOW ยป
For Email Marketing you can trust.

'like us' on facebook

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER

Tweets by @HerbstLawGroup
​HOMEOUR FIRMPARTNERSSERVICESNEWSCONTACT​DISCLAIMER

Herbst Law Group, LLC
1000 Washington Street, Braintree, MA 02184
T: (781) 843-5034    |   F: (781) 848-3051
contact@herbstlawgroup.com
NAELA
Website design by Birdhouse Marketing & Design