Asset Protection Blog - Asset Management - Asset Allocation » entireties

Sometimes The "Low-Risk Spouse" Gets Sued: Why Effective Asset Protection Is For The Whole Family

WbDowey — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:35:37 +0000

Often, a high-risk professional will title all assets in the name of their non-professional spouse as an asset protection plan. The professional thinks they are a lawsuit target, but in the event they are sued, they could tell their adversary that they "have nothing in my name." It’s a simple plan, but it sometimes backfires

Sometimes The "Low-Risk Spouse" Gets Sued: Why Effective Asset Protection Is For The Whole Family is a post from: Asset Protection Blog - Asset Management - Asset Allocation

Tenants By Entireties Account Destroyed By Couple’s Treatment Of Funds

ShawnInOhio — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 02:40:04 +0000

Husband and wife open a joint bank account at a Florida bank, and on the signature card, they pencil in the words "tenants by entireties" to express their intent that the account be an exempt entireties account. Subsequently, the deposit in the account money from another joint bank account and a joint income tax refund. These facts support clearly the conclusion that all money in the account is owned tenants by entireties, and assuming no fraudulent transfers, the money is protected from the individual creditors of either spouse

Tenants By Entireties Account Destroyed By Couple’s Treatment Of Funds is a post from: Asset Protection Blog - Asset Management - Asset Allocation

Deed From Husband To Himself And Wife Creates Entireties Ownership Per Florida Statute

ShawnInOhio — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 23:47:50 +0000

Tenancy by entireties ownership requires certain characteristics. One requirement is that husband and wife must acquire their interest in the entireties asset simultaneously. For instance, suppose a single man has a bank account. He gets married, and after marriage he adds his wife’s name to the account as a co-owner (not just an authorized signer). The account is not an entireties account because the husband and wife acquired their interests in the account at a different time and the man opened the account before being married. This week I encountered an exception to the rule about simultaneous ownership of entireties property. In this instance, my client purchased primary residence when he was single. After marriage deeded the property from his name to him and his wife jointly. The property exceeded ½ acre within a city so did not qualify for homestead protection. The issue was whether the residence could be considered a tenancy by entireties asset when the husband and wife did not acquire their interest at the same time in the same deed. Florida statutes provide an exception to simultaneous title in the case of married persons owning real property as tenants by entireties. Florida Statute 689.11 provides that if one spouse owns a property in his own name and conveys the property by deed to both spouses the conveyance creates an estate by the entirety. Prior to the enactment of this statute an individual owner of homestead or other real property would have to convey the property to an unrelated third party and then have the intervening owner make a separate deed to the spouses jointly in order to establish entireties ownership of the property. In my client’s case his deed to his wife created ownership by the entireties, and his homestead would be thereafter protected from his individual creditors even if it was not fully protected under the homestead umbrella.

Deed From Husband To Himself And Wife Creates Entireties Ownership Per Florida Statute is a post from: Asset Protection Blog - Asset Management - Asset Allocation

Tenants By Entireties Does Not Depend Upon Florida Residency

ShawnInOhio — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 03:40:24 +0000

"Assets owned jointly by married Florida residents is exempt from the individual judgment creditors of either spouse because the joint assets are owned tenants by the entireties." Most people consider the foregoing sentence to be a correct principal of Florida law. The sentence is true, but it is also misleading. The issue is that the quote suggests that tenancy by entireties is an "exemption" applicable to "Florida residents" and the quote does not consider the nature or location of property in question. Actually, tenants by entireties is not a Florida creditor "exemption." Florida exemptions from creditor levy and in bankruptcy proceedings are set forth in Chapter 222 of Florida statutes. These statutory exemptions are applicable only to Florida residents. Tenancy by the entireties is not a statutory exemption; is a principal established by the traditions of Florida case law. Florida residency is not a prerequisite for tenants by entireties protection. More specifically, you do not have to be a Florida resident to enjoy the protection of jointly owned real property (land) or tangible personal property under the entireties umbrella if the same assets are situated in the state of Florida. Consider, for example, a married couple residing in Georgia and owning jointly a parcel of real property in Florida. A judgment creditor of either spouse cannot levy on the Florida real estate owned by the Georgians because it is owned by the entireties under Florida’s property laws. A Florida married couple cannot protect as entireties property jointly owned real property situated in Georgia because Georgia property law does not recognize T by E. However, if the same Florida couple has a joint stock account or a partnership interest (or other intangible personal property) at a New York brokerage house the account may be protected from either spouse’s creditors because the law applicable to intangible personal property is the law of the debtor’s residence (Florida). The law applicable to physical assets (such as automobiles and boats) is the law where the asset is situated. Florida married residents cannot protect under the T by E umbrella a boat docked in Georgia. To understand tenancy by the entireties you must understand that T by E is not truly an "exemption" created by Florida statutes for the exclusive benefit of Florida residents.

Tenants By Entireties Does Not Depend Upon Florida Residency is a post from: Asset Protection Blog - Asset Management - Asset Allocation