Who must sign a sale
A sale of the whole property generally requires every vested owner plus any spouse or other party required by homestead, lender, court, or title conditions.
Florida co-ownership and deed education
Tenants in Common vs. Right of Survivorship The Difference Appears at Death—and Before.
Florida co-ownership affects each owner's share, ability to transfer, creditor exposure, partition rights, signing requirements, and what happens when an owner dies. Two names on a deed do not automatically create survivorship.
Florida generally defaults multiple grantees to tenancy in common unless survivorship is expressly created.
Tenancy by the entirety is a separate married-spouse ownership form with its own requirements and consequences.
Tenancy by the entirety is a separate married-spouse ownership form with its own requirements and consequences.
Share StructureEqual or stated fractions
Death TransferEstate versus survivor
Creditor ExposureEach owner's facts matter
Sale and PartitionCo-owner rights can conflict
Call or Text386-661-8000
At a glance
Compare the three common Florida co-ownership forms
| Question | Tenants in common | Joint tenants with right of survivorship | Tenants by the entirety |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who can use it? | Two or more owners | Two or more owners when validly created | Married spouses when legal requirements are met |
| Ownership shares | Separate fractional interests; deed may state unequal shares | Joint interests subject to survivorship requirements | Spouses hold as a single marital unit under Florida law |
| At one owner's death | Decedent's share passes through estate/law, not automatically to cotenant | Decedent's interest may pass to surviving joint owner | Surviving spouse generally continues as sole owner |
| Individual transfer | Owner may convey that owner's share | A transfer may sever survivorship as to that share | One spouse generally cannot unilaterally transfer the entireties interest |
| Individual creditors | May reach a debtor-owner's interest, subject to defenses and homestead facts | May reach a debtor-owner's interest, subject to defenses and homestead facts | Can have distinct protection from a debt owed by only one spouse, subject to exceptions and facts |
| After divorce | Existing tenancy continues unless changed | Instrument and divorce law/order require review | Florida statute generally converts entireties ownership to tenancy in common upon dissolution |
Practical consequences
Ownership form changes more than inheritance
Who pays expenses
The deed alone may not resolve mortgage payments, taxes, insurance, repairs, improvements, association charges, rents, possession, or reimbursement claims.
Whether partition is possible
A tenant in common or joint tenant may seek partition under applicable law. A court can address division, sale, accounting, credits, and other disputes.
What a creditor may reach
A co-owner's judgment, bankruptcy, tax lien, divorce, or other claim can affect that person's interest and marketability. Homestead protection depends on each owner's circumstances.
Whether probate is involved
A tenant-in-common share generally lacks survivorship. Valid survivorship or entireties ownership may pass differently, but death and title evidence are still required.
How later acts change title
A deed, divorce, death, lien, trust transfer, court order, or severance can change the original ownership relationship. Review the current record, not an old closing memory.
Before taking title together
Answer these questions in writing with counsel
- What exact percentage or interest should each owner hold?
- Should an owner's interest pass to the other owner or to that owner's estate and heirs?
- Are the owners married to each other, married to other people, unmarried partners, relatives, investors, or entities?
- Who may occupy the property, collect rent, approve tenants, or make improvements?
- How will mortgage, taxes, insurance, association charges, repairs, and capital improvements be allocated?
- Can an owner transfer, mortgage, or pledge an interest without the others?
- What happens after disagreement, disability, divorce, creditor action, bankruptcy, or death?
- Could homestead, spouse, minor-child, property-tax, gift, basis, lending, or insurance rules change the plan?
- Does a co-ownership agreement address sale, buyout, valuation, default, dispute resolution, and records?
- Does the final deed use the exact Florida language counsel intends and match lender/title requirements?
Co-ownership FAQ
Common Florida title questions
What happens when a tenant in common dies?
The deceased owner's share does not automatically pass to the other co-owner. It generally passes under the owner's estate plan or Florida law, subject to homestead, probate, creditor, and title requirements.
Do two names automatically create survivorship?
No. Florida Statutes § 689.15 generally treats a conveyance to two or more people as a tenancy in common unless the instrument expressly provides survivorship, with separate rules for tenancy by the entirety.
Can one tenant in common sell the whole property?
One cotenant can generally convey only that person's own interest without the other owners. A voluntary sale of the entire property requires every necessary owner and other required signer.
Can a joint tenant transfer an interest?
A transfer may sever survivorship as to the transferred interest and create a tenancy-in-common relationship. The deed, timing, liens, and applicable law require legal and title review.
Is tenancy by the entirety the same as joint tenancy?
No. Tenancy by the entirety is a distinct form available to married spouses and can have different control, creditor, divorce, and survivorship consequences.
Related ownership guidance
Connect vesting to the future plan
Can a deed avoid probate?Compare how ownership forms may pass at death.House ownership without a willSee how intestacy and homestead apply when survivorship does not control.Adding a child to a deedReview creditor, control, gift, basis, and future-title risks.Florida homestead spousal signingUnderstand why required signers can extend beyond the vested owner.
Florida law and guidance
Sources behind this comparison
Last reviewed August 14, 2026.
Florida Statutes § 689.15Tenancy-in-common default, express survivorship, and divorce effect on entireties.The Florida Bar: Buying a HomeConsumer comparison of common Florida joint-ownership forms.The Florida Bar: Co-ownership and homesteadDiscusses creditor, partition, devise, and descent consequences.The Florida Bar: Tenancy by the entiretyCurrent in-depth discussion of the distinct marital ownership form.
Educational and jurisdiction notice: This page is general education, not legal, estate-planning, partition, divorce, bankruptcy, creditor, homestead, tax, lending, or title-policy coverage advice. The current deed, marriage, occupancy, liens, later instruments, court orders, and transaction facts control. Consult qualified Florida counsel and appropriate tax/lending advisers before selecting or changing ownership. Georgia property requires Georgia-qualified counsel and Georgia-specific analysis.
Know how the property is vested before a sale, refinance, or death creates urgency.
Veterans Approved Title can examine the current record and coordinate transaction requirements while Florida counsel advises on ownership structure.