Inheritance – Will I have to share it with my spouse?

March 17, 2025

During the course of a marriage, it is not unusual for one or both spouses to receive some form of inheritance. Many of our clients want to know from the outset whether their spouse will get a share of that inheritance.

Unfortunately, the answer to that question is not always a straightforward one.

Understandably, the inheriting spouse, can often feel that it is unfair to have to share his/her inheritance with their spouse.

That is why the Courts generally treat inherited assets as ‘non-matrimonial’. This means that they are not immediately divisible between spouses for the purposes of a divorce. However, the exception to that rule is if there is not enough money from the matrimonial assets to go around, i.e. the family home/property, savings/investments and pensions

Therefore, provision then needs to be made from the non-matrimonial assets (including inheritance) to meet the needs of the other spouse, i.e. the husband has assets of £200,000, together with inheritance of £500,000. The wife has assets of just £200,000.

In those circumstances, quite clearly, the wife needs to have a share of the inherited assets in order to rehouse herself and have a reasonable standard of living. The only place that money is going to come from is the inherited monies.

Nonetheless, there are situations where inherited assets can be treated as “matrimonial” assets. This is where it can be established that inherited funds have been “mingled” with the joint assets and/or used for the benefit of both spouses. For example, if the inherited funds were spent on improvements to the family home or to purchase an investment property in joint names.

It would be difficult to argue in the circumstances, that these funds are ‘non-matrimonial’.

So how do you protect yourself from falling into this trap?

The first port of call would be to enter into Pre or Post Nuptial Agreement to stipulate that any inheritance does not form part of a divorce settlement.

In the absence of a Nuptial Agreement, the best way to ringfence inherited assets is to ensure that they are kept entirely separate from jointly owned assets. For example, keeping inherited funds in a bank account in your sole name, would strengthen an argument that they are in fact intended to be ‘non-matrimonial’.

Even if inherited funds are deemed ‘non-matrimonial’ and do not form part of the divorce settlement, it can be argued that the spouse who has the inheritance has the benefit of those funds to meet their own financial needs and that this should be taken into account in the settlement in any event.

Should you wish to discuss your specific circumstances then please contact our experts who will be able to provide you with tailored advice.

Luke Pritchett
John Hooper & Co
13th March 2025