When someone comes into our Buffalo office, they often describe a situation in which they’ve acquired some money from their grandmother, or their father has just died and they received an inheritance. They want to know whether or not that inheritance is subject to being shared with their spouse or whether they can keep all of it themselves. The general rule with respect to inheritances is that they are separate property and need not be divided between the husband and wife.
There are, however, situations where an inheritance was acquired many, many years ago and has been commingled with the marital funds or used to purchase a joint asset such as a house. The issue then becomes a lot trickier. If the inheritance is kept in a separate account, segregated from other assets, very often that inheritance can be protected from being shared with the other spouse. When an inheritance is mixed in with other property or used to purchase other property, the issue becomes more complex.
Do you have questions on how your inheritance could be divided? Contact dedicated Buffalo Divorce Attorney Michael Ranzenhofer for guidance.
This educational legal blog was brought to you by Michael Ranzenhofer, an experienced Buffalo Divorce Attorney.