To Have and to Hold, Then to Divide: How Inherited Assets Work in a Florida Divorce
You worked hard your whole life, or perhaps a relative left you something meaningful after theirs. Now you are going through a divorce and wondering whether the inheritance you received is suddenly up for grabs. The short answer is: it depends. Florida law draws a careful line between what is yours alone and what belongs to the marriage, and understanding that line could protect a substantial amount of wealth.
Florida Starts With a Simple Rule, Then Gets Complicated
Under Florida’s equitable distribution framework in Fla. Stat. § 61.075, marital assets and liabilities are divided fairly between spouses during a divorce, while nonmarital assets are not. Inheritances generally fall into the nonmarital category, meaning an inheritance you received, whether before or during the marriage, is typically considered your separate property.
That sounds reassuring. The problem is that Florida law also recognizes that what starts as separate property does not always stay that way. The concept of “commingling” is where a lot of inheritance disputes begin.
When Separate Becomes Shared
Commingling happens when inherited assets get mixed in with marital property in a way that makes them difficult to trace or distinguish. Some of the most common ways this plays out in Palm Beach County divorces include:
- Depositing inherited funds into a joint bank account that both spouses use for household expenses
- Using an inheritance to pay down the mortgage on the marital home, which is typically marital property
- Retitling an inherited property into both spouses’ names
- Allowing inherited investment accounts to grow alongside marital contributions over many years
Once this happens, the original inheritance does not automatically disappear as separate property, but proving it is still yours becomes significantly harder. Courts may require detailed financial tracing to identify which portion of a current asset originated from the inheritance versus marital contributions.
Documentation Is Everything
The clearest way to protect inherited assets in a marriage is to keep meticulous records from the beginning. That means maintaining separate accounts for inherited funds, avoiding using them for marital expenses where possible, and documenting the original source clearly. A paper trail that follows the inherited dollars from receipt to present makes tracing far more straightforward if a divorce ever occurs.
Unfortunately, many people do not think about this until they are already in a divorce proceeding and the records are incomplete or unavailable. At that point, forensic accountants and financial experts sometimes become necessary to reconstruct where the money actually went.
It is also worth knowing that a spouse can sometimes make a credible argument that an inheritance should be treated as marital property, particularly if the other spouse actively contributed to maintaining or growing an inherited asset. A rental property inherited before the marriage that was renovated using marital funds and managed jointly throughout the marriage presents very different questions than cash that sat untouched in a separate account.
Reach Out Before It Gets More Complicated
Inherited asset disputes in Florida divorces can become highly technical, turning on fine distinctions in financial records and tracing analysis. Our Boca Raton divorce lawyers frequently assist clients throughout Palm Beach County understand how to protect separate property and navigate complex equitable distribution disputes. If you have questions about how your inheritance may be treated in a Florida divorce, contact Schwartz | White for a confidential consultation.
Source:
flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2024/61.075
