Tenancy by the Entirety in Florida: The Married Couple's Title and Its Creditor Shield

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Tenancy by the entirety Florida married couples hold by default when both are on the deed gives automatic survivorship and shields the home from creditors of one spouse alone.

The mortgage, homestead and divorce each interact with it. Our guide to tenants in common versus joint tenancy in Florida covers the unmarried forms.

What it is

A form of ownership available only to married couples, treating them as one owner.

Florida presumes it when a deed conveys to a married couple.

The Florida Bar consumer guide explains ownership forms.

Neither spouse can convey or encumber alone.

Survivorship is automatic.

The creditor shield

A judgment against one spouse alone cannot attach to entireties property.

Joint debts can.

A business owner's spouse is protected from the business's creditors on the home.

Florida homestead protection adds a second layer.

Together they are among the strongest asset protections in the country.

The mortgage

Both spouses sign the mortgage on entireties property.

See our guide to adding a spouse to the mortgage in Florida.

One spouse can be the sole borrower on the note.

Florida homestead law requires the non-borrowing spouse to join the mortgage anyway.

The lender's lien is a joint obligation on the property.

Qualifying with one spouse

A spouse with weak credit stays off the note and on title.

See our guide to credit score tiers and mortgage pricing in Florida.

The borrowing spouse qualifies alone.

Both own; one owes.

Common and clean.

Death

The survivor owns the whole by recording the death certificate.

See our guide to the mortgage after the death of a spouse in Florida.

No probate for the home.

The mortgage continues; the survivor is a successor in interest.

Assume or refinance in the survivor's name.

Divorce

The entireties ends at the final decree; the former spouses become tenants in common.

See our guide to divorce and your mortgage in Florida.

The decree assigns the home; a deed and a refinance carry it out.

See our guide to refinancing after divorce in Florida.

The creditor shield ends too.

Homestead

Entireties property occupied by the couple is homestead.

See our guide to the Florida homestead exemption.

The exemption and the cap apply.

Transfers between spouses do not reset the cap.

Portability can be shared or split.

Buying before marriage

A home bought by one partner before marriage is that partner's separate property.

A new deed after marriage converts it to entireties.

See our guide to quitclaim deeds and your mortgage in Florida.

Exempt from doc stamps on a homestead.

The lender's due-on-sale clause does not apply to spousal transfers.

Second homes and rentals

Entireties applies to any Florida real estate a married couple holds jointly, not just the homestead.

See our guide to snowbird second home mortgages in Florida.

The creditor shield applies; the homestead protection does not.

Rentals held this way are protected from one spouse's separate judgments.

An LLC is the alternative for liability from the rental itself.

Bank accounts and other assets

Florida extends entireties to personal property and accounts when the couple intends it.

Joint accounts titled as entireties carry the same shield.

Useful for the down payment funds.

See our guide to large deposits and source of funds in Florida.

An attorney sets it up.

Trusts

Moving entireties property into a joint revocable trust can preserve the shield if drafted correctly.

See our guide to trusts and mortgages in Florida.

Poorly drafted trusts lose it.

Estate planning attorneys handle this routinely.

Ask specifically about entireties preservation.

Lenders and title insurance

Title companies draft the deed to the couple as husband and wife or as spouses.

See our guide to title insurance in Florida.

Both spouses sign at closing.

A spouse abroad or absent needs a power of attorney the lender approves.

See our guide to powers of attorney and mortgages in Florida.

Same-sex couples

Married same-sex couples hold entireties on the same terms.

Unmarried partners cannot, regardless of duration.

See our guide to buying with a partner unmarried in Florida.

Marriage is the test.

A cohabitation agreement is the unmarried substitute.

Limits of the shield

Joint debts, including a joint mortgage, are not shielded.

Federal tax liens can reach entireties property.

Fraudulent transfers into entireties to defeat a known creditor can be undone.

The shield protects against one spouse's separate liabilities, not against everything.

Insurance still matters.

Reading your deed

A deed to a married couple, both named, is presumed entireties in Florida.

A deed naming only one spouse is that spouse's alone.

A deed that says tenants in common overrides the presumption.

Check the recorded deed.

Fix it with a new deed if needed.

A worked example

A physician and a teacher buy a home with both on the deed and only the teacher on the note.

The physician's malpractice exposure cannot reach the home.

At the physician's death, the teacher owns the whole without probate.

The mortgage continues in the teacher's name.

Homestead and the cap were never interrupted.

Refinancing entireties property

Both spouses sign the new mortgage even if one is the borrower.

The title company confirms the marriage on the deed.

A spouse who cannot attend uses a lender-approved power of attorney.

The refinance does not change the ownership form.

Routine for Florida closers.

Where to start

Confirm both spouses will be on the deed and decide who is on the note.

Tell the title company to draft the deed as spouses.

Then start a conversation and we will structure the loan for one or both borrowers.