If you’re going through a divorce, you know that you need to divide marital property. Both you and your spouse own this property together, so you have to split it up. Separate property, on the other hand, is just owned by either you or your spouse, and you can typically keep it after the divorce.
One way in which these assets are categorized is just based on when they were received. It’s typically a marital asset if you received it after getting married, whereas it is a separate asset if you acquired it prior to getting married. But does this also apply to your inheritance?
The issue of commingling
An inheritance can be different. It’s not the same as a paycheck that you earned or a car that you bought together. Instead, it’s a direct gift that your parents gave to you—not necessarily to your spouse. If it was given to both of you jointly, it still is a marital asset, but it is probably a separate asset if it was given to you individually – even if you were married at the time.
However, you can commingle the inheritance after receiving it. Examples of commingling include investing it in a joint portfolio that your spouse shares or putting it into a joint bank account. Another example is to use it to pay your bills, to make a down payment on a house that you own together and things of this nature. Commingling the inheritance makes it into a marital asset, so that you have to divide it.
Exactly how assets get split up during divorce is often contentious, so it’s important to understand exactly what legal steps to take.
