There are four ways to hold property in the state of Florida. They are: sole ownership, joint tenants in common, joint tenancy with rights of survivorship, and tenants in the entirety.

Sole ownership of property, sometimes called fee simple exists when the title of property is in one name only. It means that you have the right to sell, mortgage or give away the property during your lifetime and to name the recipient of the property after your death.

Tenants in Common is another way to hold property in Florida. When this term is used on ownership papers, the heirs will receive the portion of the property that belonged to the co-owner who died. Other co-owners will not receive a share unless they are designated heirs.

People who hold property in sole ownership (fee simple) or as tenants in common should write a will, indicating how they want the property to be distributed. Otherwise, in the absence of a will, Florida law will determine how the property is distributed to the heirs.

Joint tenants with the rights of survivorship is another way to hold property. Individuals who hold property this way have an interest which is undivided and fractional. That is they all own it together, not in equal shares. When one owner dies the total property held in this manner becomes the sole property of the other owners; so it is said to provide the rights of survivorship.

This property does not need to be listed in a will, since the owner is already designated. Most joint bank accounts are held this way. At the death of any of the co-owners, the property is divided equally among the surviving co-owners. This doesn’t mean that the transfer will occur immediately or that taxes won’t have to be paid.

Tenants in the Entirety is a form of ownership available only to married couples. This type of ownership requires both partners to sign to sell the property or to borrow money on the property. One partner cannot make any decision without the consent of the other. At the death of one partner the other partner owns the property.

Prepared by: Dr. Josephine Turner
Professor, Family, Youth and Consumer Economics
University of Florida