Inheritance and Divorce

Will my spouse be entitled to any of my inheritance during the divorce?

If you get an inheritance during the course of your marriage, it is critical to keep the inheritance separate rather than putting it into a joint account you share with your spouse. Any inheritance is yours and no one else’s. However, if you put the inheritance into a joint account or use it to buy a house or other large purchase, the inheritance is considered a gift to the marriage. It is very difficult to prove otherwise in the courts.

If you have recently received an inheritance but are considering divorce, an experienced Boca Raton divorce attorney can help you keep what is rightfully yours. Contact Denise Isaacs at 561-961-8130 for a personal consultation.

“If you get an inheritance during the marriage it needs to be kept separate and not comingled into marital assets like you’re giving a gift to the marriage. If you get an inheritance during the marriage, you need to keep it separate.

If somebody outside the family, like your parents, give you gifts and you are not bringing it into the marriage, you don’t put it into a joint account, you keep it separate.

In terms of an inheritance, if you inherit something it is yours … Sole, only yours, yours, yours. The way you lose ownership is by comingling it and putting the title of the property in both parties’ names, and/or using it to purchase property for the marriage.

If you use your separate inheritance to pay down the mortgage on the house, it’s a gift to the marriage unless you can prove otherwise. The proving otherwise is very specific. It is very hard to get around the case law and the statutes that say that when a house is put into joint names, that a gift was intended.”

Schedule A Consultation Today

Contact Us