If you’re married and buying a home in Maryland, there’s a good chance you’re about to become “tenants by the entirety” without ever seeing that phrase on your closing documents. It’s one of the more useful protections built into Maryland property law — and one almost nobody explains until it matters, usually when a creditor comes knocking or a marriage ends.
Here’s what it means, how it protects you, and what happens to it if things change.
What Tenancy by the Entirety Actually Is
Tenancy by the entirety is a way for married couples to hold title to property — most commonly a home — where the law treats the couple as a single legal owner rather than two separate people who each own a share. Maryland goes further than most states here: if a married couple buys property together and the deed doesn’t specify otherwise, the law presumes they’re taking title as tenants by the entirety automatically.
Practically, that means:
- Neither spouse can sell, mortgage, or transfer the property alone. Both signatures are required for any transactions regarding the home so that one spouse can’t quietly refinance or sign over an interest without the other’s consent.
- There’s a built-in right of survivorship. If one spouse dies, the surviving spouse automatically owns the whole property. It doesn’t pass through probate or get contested by a will.
- It only exists between married spouses. Two unmarried co-owners — business partners, siblings, an unmarried couple — can’t hold title this way, no matter how the deed is worded.
What Happens to Property in a Divorce
This is where tenancy by the entirety intersects directly with family law, and it’s not optional or something couples negotiate around — it happens automatically. The moment a Maryland court grants an absolute divorce, the tenancy by the entirety ends by operation of law. The former spouses now hold the property as tenants in common instead.
That shift matters more than it sounds like it should:
- The right of survivorship disappears. Each ex-spouse’s share now passes according to their will (or Maryland’s intestacy law if they don’t have one) instead of automatically going to the other person.
- Creditor protection disappears too. Once the property is tenants in common, a creditor pursuing only one ex-spouse can reach that person’s individual share.
- Either owner can now sell or transfer their share independently — something neither could do while married and holding title as tenants by the entirety.
None of this requires a separate court filing or extra paperwork; it happens automatically the instant the divorce is finalized. What usually does require negotiation is what happens next: whether the home is sold and proceeds split, whether one spouse buys out the other’s share, or whether the property is otherwise addressed in the divorce settlement. We cover how Maryland courts approach dividing marital property more broadly in our guide to how property gets divided in a Maryland divorce.
Can You End a Tenancy by the Entirety While Still Married?
Yes, but only with both spouses’ agreement — that’s the core feature of this form of ownership. A couple can voluntarily convert the title to tenants in common or joint tenancy, typically as part of estate planning, a refinance, or preparing for a business venture where one spouse needs individual control over their share. This is sometimes addressed directly in a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement, particularly when one spouse is bringing significant premarital property into the marriage or when there’s a family business involved.
Does This Apply to More Than Just Homes?
Maryland’s presumption of tenancy by the entirety applies most commonly to real estate, but it can extend to other jointly titled property as well, including certain bank accounts and personal property, depending on how the asset is titled and documented. Real estate is where it appears most often — and where getting the titling wrong has the biggest consequences — but it’s worth mentioning if you and your spouse jointly hold other significant assets.
What to Actually Do With This Information
If you’re married and buying property in Maryland, the practical takeaway is simple: know how your deed titles the property, and don’t assume — check. If you’re going through a divorce and jointly own real estate, understand that the legal protection you may have relied upon during the marriage automatically ends at the divorce decree, which affects how the property should be handled in your settlement. In addition, if you’re doing estate or asset planning as a married couple, tenancy by the entirety is worth discussing explicitly rather than defaulting into it without understanding what it does and doesn’t protect.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do we need to do anything to get tenancy by the entirety in Maryland, or is it automatic? For married couples, it’s the legal presumption by default when you take title to property jointly, unless the deed states otherwise. You don’t need to request it specifically, but you should confirm your deed reflects what you intend.
Can one spouse force the sale of the home while both are alive and still married? No. Because both spouses are treated as a single owner, neither can sell, mortgage, or transfer the property without the other’s consent.
What happens if we separate but aren’t divorced yet? Tenancy by the entirety remains in place until a court grants an absolute divorce — separation alone doesn’t end it. This is one reason the timing of a divorce decree can matter for property and creditor issues.
Does tenancy by the entirety protect against all debt? No. It generally protects against debts owed by only one spouse individually, but it doesn’t protect against jointly owed debts or federal tax liens.
What replaces tenancy by the entirety after divorce? Maryland law automatically converts it to a tenancy in common, where each former spouse owns an individual, undivided share with no automatic right of survivorship.
Talk to a Maryland Family Law Attorney
Whether you’re titling a new home, planning your estate, or working through how property will be divided in a divorce, how your property is held matters as much as what you own. If you have questions about your specific situation, our Maryland family law attorneys can walk you through your options.
For more on how prenuptial and postnuptial agreements intersect with property ownership, see our guides to prenuptial agreements in Maryland and postnuptial agreements in Maryland and DC. For an independent, non-legal-aid overview of how Maryland’s joint property rules work, the Maryland People’s Law Library is a useful public resource.