During a divorce, a couple can sometimes get into conflict over how property and assets should be divided. They know that marital assets need to go through property division and that they may be allowed to keep the entirety of separate assets. But they may not agree on which category a certain asset fits into.
In many high-asset divorce cases, the issue revolves around an inheritance. If someone’s parents left them millions of dollars, it is natural that their spouse may have been expecting to live off of that money or have a certain elevated standard of living moving forward. They may believe that they have a claim to a portion of the inheritance during a divorce, but is that actually true?
Was the inheritance commingled?
In many cases, it is a question of commingling, or mixing assets together.
To start with, an inheritance is likely going to qualify as a separate asset. Even if the couple was already married when one person received it, it was still left directly to them by their parents and is considered a gift. It is not income that they have earned or an asset that they purchased. As such, they may not have to divide it during divorce.
But mixing it with other assets can change things significantly. Maybe they gave their spouse access to the inheritance account. Maybe they stored it with other joint funds, such as shared investments. Perhaps they purchased a family home or a vacation property with the money, buying a shared asset with the inheritance.
All of these scenarios can commingle it and turn the inheritance into a marital asset that now has to go through property division.
Navigating the legal process
You can see how complex things can get, and a divorce can turn contentious. As you go through this legal process, it can help to work with an experienced divorce attorney.