In the last blog we talked about property division and the concept of "marital
property". As mentioned, there are exceptions to the presumption that assets
acquired during a marriage are marital and subject to division. One such
exception may be an inheritance. An inheritance that is received from a source
other than the other spouse is presumed to be separate and not subject to
division. In a marriage, however, we often see spouses who have combined
an inheritance with joint or marital investment accounts, bank accounts or
other financial assets. This is normal where marriages are partnerships and
work together. However, in the event of a separation or divorce, if the
inheritance has been commingled in this fashion, it may have changed the
separate nature of that inheritance to a marital asset or a combination of both
separate and marital assets and may be subject to division. Experienced family
law attorneys can help you assess the classification of an inheritance and can
help you understand the legal issues involved and ways that funds mixed with
marital monies mayor may not be able to be traced back to their separate origins.
