Will My Spouse be Entitled to Half of the Assets I Inherit if we Divorce?

Inheritance is a unique issue to deal with when looking at divorce.  The starting point will be to look at when the inheritance was received. Sometimes the inheritance might have been received before the parties were married, it might have been received during the marriage, or even after separation.  Where the inheritance was acquired before the marriage it can be referred to as a non-marital asset and may not be shared in the same way as marital assets. We also need to consider what the person who inherited the money, did with it. For example, was it kept in a sole bank account? was it put into a joint bank account? was it used to pay the mortgage off?  Where someone has used inherited money jointly in the marriage, they have intermingled it. If they have done so, it is more likely that it would be taken into account as a marital asset.

What the person who inherited the money has done with it is important; how much it was is also really important because the principles for dealing with sharing finances are always based on fairness and the predominant factor is always the needs of the party. Even if someone had the inheritance for example before the parties met but it was the main asset of the marriage and the other party, perhaps who has a child of the marriage, needs to rely on some of that money then it can still be shared.  Looking at the needs of both parties and any children will always dictate what is likely to happen to any inheritance money. For example, if there was quite a lot of marital money and the parties do not need to rely on the inheritance money to meet needs, it is far more likely that the person who received the inheritance will be able to retain it.

Here is a video recorded by Head of Family Law, Sharon Mckie: 

If you would like any more information, contact our Family team on 01302 341414 or fill out our online enquiry form.