“Make everything TBE!” This pearl of wisdom was offered to me by a bankruptcy trustee shortly before my nuptials. TBE—or more properly stated, tenancy by the entireties—is a form of shared property ownership in Florida and other jurisdictions that is unique to married couples. What makes TBE property special is that “when property is held as a tenancy by the entireties, only the creditors of both the husband and wife, jointly, may attach the tenancy by the entireties property; the property is not divisible on behalf of one spouse alone, and therefore it cannot be reached to satisfy the obligation of only one spouse, see Beal Bank v. Almand & Associates, 780 So. 2d 45, 53 (Fla. 2001). Accordingly, the ability of a married couple to claim property as TBE can be kryptonite for their individual creditors.

When it comes to bank accounts, “jointly titled marital bank accounts are presumed to be tenancy by the entireties if the ‘six unities’ of marriage (the parties must be married at the time the property became titled in their joint names), possession (joint ownership and control), interest (the interests must be identical), title (the interest must have originated in the same instrument), time (the interests must have commenced simultaneously) and right of survivorship are simultaneously present and the debtor does not expressly disclaim the account is held as tenancy by the entireties. FIn re Stephenson, 2012 WL 4896725, at *1 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. Oct. 4, 2012) (citing Beal Bank v. Almand & Associates, 780 So.2d 45, 52, 58–60 (Fla.2001)). From a practical standpoint, establishing the TBE unities in a bank account is relatively straightforward. When a bank account is opened as TBE, the married couple will physically go to the bank, sign the account paperwork at the same time, and even check a box on their signature card indicating their intent to hold the account as TBE. But what happens if instead of fiat currency, i.e., currency that is issued and backed by a government, the married couple wishes to own cryptocurrency as TBE? The answer is not so simple. In part, the ability to claim TBE on cryptocurrency depends on whether it is classified as currency or property. Although there is authority for the adoption of either definition, for the purposes of this article, let us assume that cryptocurrency is, indeed, currency as its name implies.