Property division can cause a lot of stress during a divorce. You know you cannot keep everything, but you do not want to give away more than you need to. Money is hard to come by, after all.
One area that can generate concern is any inheritance you receive. You know your grandparents worked hard to save some money, so the last thing you want is to see half of it disappear outside the family when you are divorced.
Fortunately, this is unlikely to happen. Here is why:
Texas considers inheritance a spouse’s separate property
You need to determine what is community property and what is separate property when divorcing. Most things you acquire during a marriage are community property which you must split.
The exception is inheritances and gifts, which classify as separate property regardless of whether you got them before the marriage or during it.
When might this rule not apply?
If you commingled your inheritance with your community property, you might need to divide it. What does that mean, though?
Commingled means you treated a piece of separate property as if it were community property to the extent that you can no longer define the difference. For example, if you took the $100,000 your gran left you and put it in the same account as the money you both pay your wages into and pay the bills from.
If your spouse is trying to claim part of your inheritance, get legal help to see if you can show it is not as commingled as they say. If you show you can distinguish what is what, you may be able to end your marriage with your entire inheritance intact.
