You and your spouse have a relatively high net worth. A significant portion of that net worth comes from a large inheritance from your own parents.
Now you and your spouse are going to get divorced. Your spouse is claiming that you have to divide the money with them, and they should get roughly half of the inheritance in the divorce. You would like to keep 100% of the inheritance and you do not believe your parents would have wanted it to leave the family through divorce. So how does the law treat an inheritance?
It is likely a separate asset
Generally speaking, New Jersey sees an inheritance as a separate asset, so it is only owned by the person who received it. This makes it different than other types of financial assets, such as money that you and your spouse earned at your jobs. Your income would be a marital asset, so you would have to split it. However, the inheritance would be a separate asset, meaning it does not have to be divided.
That said, the status can change. Maybe you deposited the inheritance in a joint bank or investment account owned by both you and your spouse. Maybe you purchased marital assets, like a home, using the money. Perhaps you simply shared it with them and allowed them to make purchases on their own. All these actions can be seen as commingling the inheritance, which could turn it into a marital asset that has to go through property division.
This kind of situation can make things very complex, It’s crucial that you understand your legal options with so much money on the line.
