What effect does Joint Tenancy have on your Florida Estate Planning?

Florida law allows two people to be able to own Florida property together as joint owners in several ways. One of these ways is called “joint tenancy with the right of survivorship.”

The Florida Joint Tenancy With Right of Survivorship (JTWROS) is a familiar tool for Florida estate planners.

• Essentially, a joint tenancy enables property in Florida to pass immediately to the surviving owner when the other owner or owners die.
• This means that the transfer of interest skips the probate process completely.
• The asset transfers from one joint tenant to the sole ownership of the surviving, still living, joint tenant.
• This process can save people a lot of time and money.

Usually, bank accounts between married couples are held in joint tenancies in Florida.  In this instance, when one spouse dies, the surviving spouse can freely use and access the account without the need to file a probate proceeding. This can be emotionally and financially beneficial to someone who has to cope with the loss of a loved one.

There are however, a couple of downfalls associated with joint tenancies.

• One particular disadvantages of the joint tenancy is that creditors can potentially seekrepayment of debt from the asset held in joint tenancy.
• This can happen regardless if the surviving spouse contributed to the debt or even knew about the debt to begin with.
• Further, by avoiding the Florida probate process, transfers of interest in assets held in joint tenancy cannot be included in your will.
• So if you have a major asset in joint tenancy, you will have no say in the administration of that asset after death.

Do you hold your West Palm Beach home in joint tenancy?  Did your Boca Raton estate planner set up a joint brokerage account for you and your spouse?  If you have personal experience with joint tenancies in Florida, leave a comment below.

See http://www.pankauskilawfirm.com for videos and information on Wills in Florida, Florida Trust Law, Estate Planning, and Estate Administration in Florida.