Q: My wife left me last year. We have two sons whom we co-parent half a week each. She did not want to stay in the jointly owned marital home, and somehow managed to get a housing association property in another town near her new partner, although they do not ‘officially’ live together. She does not want a divorce right now, which I suspect is because she hopes I will receive an inheritance before that happens and she thinks she will get half of it in the divorce settlement. Would she be entitled to any of my inheritance?
A: In divorce proceedings, assets inherited by one party are classed as non-marital assets and do not automatically go into the matrimonial pot. The difficulty is that if the matrimonial assets are insufficient to meet the reasonable needs of both parties, then the court can take non-matrimonial assets into account as well. ‘Reasonable needs’ are non-specific and are at the discretion of the court which can redistribute assets in any way they deem fair.
In making their decision about the split of the assets, the court will consider factors such as the couple’s standard of living during the marriage, the age, health and income of each, and the needs of any children. Other factors include the length of the marriage, the value of the inheritance, when it was received, and whether it had mingled with shared monies if it was received during the marriage.
If reconciliation is impossible, you should seek immediate advice about the financial aspect of your situation from a divorce solicitor, irrespective of whether you are divorcing now. While inheritance that you expect to receive in the future is not usually taken into account, if you finalise a divorce without putting a financial consent order in place, then your ex-spouse may be able to make a claim against the inheritance even if it comes through post-divorce!
This question has been answered by Deon Hayward, a Solicitor with GHP Legal. If you would like to speak to someone about this or any other legal matter, please visit our website www.ghplegal.com and use the contact us form, or call us on: Wrexham 01978 291456, Llangollen 01978 860313, Oswestry 01691 659194
