does not protect the property from claims against shared debts 
both partners have equal stakes and must agree on any decisions concerning the property property must still be probated after the second spouse dies common law spouses and domestic partners are only included in certain states tenancy by the entirety vs joint tenancya tenancy by the entirety is similar to a joint tenancy where a property is co owned by two or more people in both types of tenancy there is a right of survivorship upon the death of one owner their share is automatically passed on to the other tenant rather than being probated with their estate however there are some differences while tenants in the entirety are usually required to be a married couple joint tenants can have any type of relationship siblings business partners or even friends 3moreover while a tenancy by the entirety can only be terminated by mutual agreement or the death of a spouse a joint tenancy can unilaterally be ended by either of the tenants all they need to do is sell or transfer their share to another person who then becomes a tenant in common states that allow tenancy by the entiretyeach state has its own laws that govern tenancy by the entirety and how it may be applied though some states allow this form of ownership to exist for all types of property held by married couples others only allow it to be exercised for real estate that is jointly owned by spouses some states also permit domestic partners or common law spouses to jointly own property through tenancy by the entirety 2twenty five states and washington d c allow tenancy by the entirety the states that permit it are other possible structures under which spouses can choose to jointly own property include tenancy in common tic and joint tenancy 