Do both spouses own money inherited by one spouse?

[Reticulata]

If one spouse inherits or is gifted money, does it automatically belong to both spouses?

I have some inherited and gifted money in my account. DH insists it’s legally ours, not mine. He thinks if we divorce he’d be entitled to half. He therefore sees no reason why I don’t put it in our joint account, because we’re married therefore its half his regardless of which account it’s in.

I honestly don't know but this is something that I need to know, so I'm very interested.

budgeting.thenest.com/inherited-money-belong-spouse-27653.html

Don't know how true it is, but if it is do not put it into the joint account

gah that's american.....

Not an expert, but as far as I understand it, the judge looks at each case individually with regard to inheritance.

If the money is mixed up, then an inheritance is more likely to be considered property of the marriage. If it is kept separate, you have an argument for keeping it yourself. But, that will only be done if there are enough assets within the relationship for there to be an equitable split.

So if you only had a small amount of joint assets and the inheritance was massive, then its more likely to be split, taking into account length of marriage, whether there are children, etc, etc.

harrogatefamilylaw.co.uk/is-my-husband-entitled-to-a-share-of-my-inheritance-when-we-divorce/

Strange question to ask if you are in a loving relationship. DW inherited money when her parents died, we paid off mortgage, went on holiday, bought a new car and put the rest away for the DC. She never once thought it was only her money. If I inherit then any money will be ours.

I've just read your other thread OP, and can see why you've asked. I think you should put the money away in a completely separate account, not one that you use daily. Perhaps a fixed rate bond account or something which would earn you better interest, and then the money CAN'T be touched for a few years.

In Scotland an inheritance is not considered joint money

In Scotland if Inherited money can become joint,eg if used to build an extension to jointly owned house

EhlanaOfElenia has summed up how divorce law views it. As for actual ownership (useful if one of you is made bankrupt) it belongs to the spouse who inherits it. On divorce the court can redistribute it if it thinks it is fair to do so.

There seems to be a moral arguement for this on this site, which has always struck me as strange.
'All that I am I give to you, all that I have I share with you, unless it came via inheritance'.
Although inheritance can be one way to be able to afford to split up!

I looked into this a while ago and as I understood it Inheritance is one of the only things that cannot be legally classed as joint property.

I looked into this a while ago and as I understood it Inheritance is one of the only things that cannot be legally classed as joint property.

What do you mean by "legally classed as joint property"? In what context?

Anything can be legally classed as "joint property" if it is jointly owned. Being married to someone doesn't make everything you own suddenly become jointly owned, and receiving a gift or income when you are married does not make that become legally joint unless it is placed in to a joint bank account or some other investment in joint names.

Length of marriage can make a difference, I believe.

Being married to someone doesn't make everything you own suddenly become jointly owned, and receiving a gift or income when you are married does not make that become legally joint
I thought it did. So his car is now half mine and my inheritance is now half his. Etc.

I thought it did. So his car is now half mine and my inheritance is now half his. Etc.

Only on Mumsnet. In the real world it's different.

Who owns what will determine what would happen to assets if one of the spouses is made bankrupt. It also represents the starting point on a divorce (where the court has the power to transfer assets etc).

Do not move it to the joint account!!

I can't stress that enough. For it to be considered a joint asset there would need to be evidence of it going into the common pot - if, however, you keep it solely in your name, you stand a very good chance of it not being classed as a joint asset.

Talk of "joint assets" in a divorce context only takes place on MN.

In a divorce property is either owned by one of the spouses or them both jointly. It's all up for grabs. No one has to work out whether it's "joint" or not. It's completely irrelevant.

Of course there are various reasons why there may not be an equal division of assets, but you could go on a day long course and scratch the surface of that topic.

Your inheritance belongs to you. Not him. You can spend it on anything you want. It is not his money and he has no legal right to it.

This changes ONLY in the event of you getting divorced, and if any of it remains, as all assets will be taken into account.

So you can blow the whole lot on shoes and nail varnish if you like and there's nothing he can do about it.

It's not really a strange question because circumstances can change. For example, if the spouse who is left behind remarries and has more children, the spouse who died may want her inheritance to go to her children and not the new child. Or, if it's a second marriage and both partners have children, they might not want the inheritance to go to the step children. It may be a gift from a parent who wants it to go to the grandchildren, and not the step grandchildren. Families are complicated. Nobody knows what is around the corner. Even the happiest of marriages can take a turn for the worse and end up in divorce.