Tenancy by the Entirety Florida

The three common ways to hold title in Florida

When two or more people buy together, the deed says how they own it. Your title company or closing attorney will ask before they prepare it.

• Tenancy by the entirety: available only to legally married spouses. The couple owns the property as one unit. Neither spouse can sell or mortgage it alone, and the survivor takes the whole property automatically.
• Joint tenancy with right of survivorship: available to anyone, married or not. Each owner holds an equal share, and when one dies, the survivors take that share without probate.
• Tenancy in common: each owner holds a separate share, which can be unequal (60/40, for example). When an owner dies, that share passes under their will or by Florida's intestacy rules, usually through probate, not to the other co-owners.

Florida does not presume survivorship between unmarried co-owners. If two friends, siblings or an unmarried couple buy together and the deed says nothing more, they are generally tenants in common. Survivorship has to be written into the deed expressly. The words matter, so read the draft deed before closing and ask the closing agent to explain any phrase you do not understand.

How tenancy by the entirety works for married buyers

If spouses take title together, Florida law presumes tenancy by the entirety for real estate, unless the deed says otherwise. Most deeds still state it expressly, such as "John Smith and Jane Smith, husband and wife," and many closing agents add the words "as tenants by the entirety" for clarity.

What it gives you:

• Automatic survivorship: when one spouse dies, the other owns the whole property. A death certificate recorded in the county records is usually all that is needed. No probate for the house.
• Protection from one spouse's creditors: a creditor holding a judgment against only one spouse generally cannot place a lien on the property or force a sale. This matters for business owners, doctors, and anyone with personal guarantees.
• Joint control: neither spouse can sell, mortgage or give away the property without the other's signature.

What it does not protect against: debts both spouses owe, such as the mortgage itself, a joint credit card or a loan you both guaranteed. Tax liens owed by one spouse to the federal government can also be treated differently. Divorce ends the tenancy by the entirety, and the former spouses typically become tenants in common until the property is divided.

Homestead adds a second layer

Florida's constitutional homestead protection is separate from how you title the home, and the two often work together. If the house is your permanent residence:

• It is protected from most creditors regardless of how it is titled, within the acreage limits.
• You can claim the homestead exemption, worth up to $51,411 off assessed value in 2026, and the Save Our Homes cap limits annual assessment increases to 3% or CPI, whichever is lower.
• If you are married, your spouse generally has to sign any deed or mortgage on the homestead, even if only your name is on title.
• Florida restricts how a homestead can be left by will when you have a surviving spouse or minor child.

Tenancy by the entirety matters most where homestead does not apply: a second home, a condo for the winter, or property owned by spouses who are not Florida residents. For Canadian snowbirds and other part-time owners, it can be the main creditor protection on the Florida property, since there is no homestead.

Choices for unmarried couples, family and friends

Unmarried partners cannot hold as tenants by the entirety, so the realistic choices are:

• Joint tenancy with right of survivorship if you each want the other to get the house automatically. Make sure the deed spells out survivorship expressly.
• Tenancy in common if you are contributing unequal amounts, or you want your share to go to your children or someone else. State the percentages in the deed.

Whichever you choose, put a written co-ownership agreement in place covering who pays what, what happens if one person wants out, and how sale proceeds are split. The deed shows ownership. It does not settle disputes about money. A parent buying with an adult child should also think through how each person's creditors, divorces or estates could reach the property.

Trusts, life estate deeds and LLCs

Many Florida buyers, especially retirees, later move the home into a revocable living trust or use an enhanced life estate deed (often called a lady bird deed) so the property passes outside probate. These tools can work well, but they change how the property is held.

• Florida law lets married couples keep tenancy by the entirety protection in some trust arrangements, but only if the trust is set up to qualify. Have an estate attorney draft it.
• A properly drafted revocable trust can usually still claim the homestead exemption for the residents.
• Holding a residence in an LLC generally means giving up the homestead exemption and the Save Our Homes cap, and it complicates financing. I rarely see that make sense for a primary home.

Decide on titling before closing if you can. Changing it later means a new deed, recording fees and, in some cases, documentary stamp tax, and moving a mortgaged property can require lender consent.

Foreign and out-of-state buyers

Citizenship is not required to hold tenancy by the entirety. A married couple from Canada, Europe or elsewhere can take title this way, as long as they are legally married. Bring proof of names as they appear on passports so the deed and the closing documents match exactly.

Titling choices interact with tax rules in your home country and with U.S. estate tax for non-residents, which can be significant on higher-priced property. In costlier markets such as Miami-Dade, with a typical value of $523,240, or Collier at $552,087, it is worth a conversation with a cross-border tax advisor before you sign, not after. If you are still choosing between areas, the shortlist form lets me start you with listings that fit your budget while you sort out the ownership structure.

This isn't legal or tax advice. A Florida real estate or estate planning attorney should confirm the right choice for your situation.