Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Florida

The short answer is "Generally speaking, No".

In Florida, assets held as "joint tenants by the entireties", which is a special type of property ownership available only to a married couple, are deemed to be owned by the "marital unit" and not by either spouse. That appears to be what you are describing.

Property held in this way can generally not be used to satisfy the claims of a creditor who is owed money by only one spouse. The lender on the nortgage with the parents and one of the spouses would appear to be in this category.

Under Florida law, real property owned by a married couple and purchased together during their marriage is presumed to be owned as "joint tenants by the entireties". An example is property deeded to"John and Mary, husband and wife".

While personal property, including bank accounts, can be held as "joint tenants by the entireties", there is no presumption that property owned by a married couple and purchased together during their marriage is owned by the marital unit. For instance, if you and a spouse buy a lawn mower together, the presumption is that each spouse owns half.

One other issue- it may be that the jointly-held property is also "homestead" property under Florida law. If that is the case, ordinary creditors other than the IRS, certain taxing authorities, a home mortgage lender, or a contractor who has done work on the home, cannot reach the equity in a home to satisfy their claims.

Under Florida law, if, heaven forbid, I cause a car accident and have a million dollar judgment entered against me, the person awarded the judgment cannot force the sale of my home to pay the judgment.

Robert Wilcox

(904) 281-0700