What event terminates the estate by entireties and converts to tenancy in common?

What event terminates the estate by entireties and converts to tenancy in common?

• A. Divorce
• B. Death of one spouse
• C. Marriage
• D. Bankruptcy

Answer: (A)

Estate by entirety is a form of ownership for married couples that treats the spouses as a single unit with a right of survivorship. Because of that survivorship feature, when one spouse dies, the other automatically acquires full ownership, not a tenancy in common. The event that ends this unified form is divorce, which severs the right of survivorship and converts the property into tenancy in common, where each spouse holds a separate, undivided interest and there’s no automatic survivor ownership. Marriage would create or maintain the estate by entirety, while bankruptcy does not inherently convert the ownership form between spouses.

Estate by entirety is a form of ownership for married couples that treats the spouses as a single unit with a right of survivorship. Because of that survivorship feature, when one spouse dies, the other automatically acquires full ownership, not a tenancy in common. The event that ends this unified form is divorce, which severs the right of survivorship and converts the property into tenancy in common, where each spouse holds a separate, undivided interest and there’s no automatic survivor ownership. Marriage would create or maintain the estate by entirety, while bankruptcy does not inherently convert the ownership form between spouses.