Estate of the entirety

Estate of the entirety in the United States

Estate of the entirety in Connecticut

The estate (more in the U.S.) by the entirety is of ancient origin. It comes from the common law . . . . It is built upon the fiction of the law that a husband and wife are one and only one legal entity. United States v. Hutcherson, 188 F.2d 326, 329 (8th Cir. 1951).
In an estate (more in the U.S.) of the entirety the husband and the wife during their joint lives each owns, not a part, or a separate or a separable interest, but the whole, and therefore the death of one leaves the other still holding the whole title as before, with no one to share it. Ibid.
Neither the husband nor the wife in an estate (more in the U.S.) of entirety can so destroy the character of the estate (more in the U.S.) as to prevent the survivor becoming the sole owner (more in the United States). Ibid.