Can your spouse take your inheritance?

Inherited property cannot be divided in a divorce.

The court does not have the ability to give your inheritance to your spouse in a divorce. The trick is proving to the court that the property was inherited. With a piece of land, it is usually easy. You get a certified copy of the deed from the executor or administrator, and make sure it is given to the court as an exhibit. The same rule applies with tangible physical property, like an '86 Ford Pinto, or a Stradivarius violin. If you can make a clear case to the court that it was inherited, it cannot be divided.

With cash, the most important thing to do is to keep it in a separate bank account from money that is being earned during the marriage. If you put the cash into an account that also had marital earnings, you will need either very good records, an expert witness, or both to show how much of the money in the account came from your inheritance.

Inherited stocks and retirement accounts accounts can get complicated too. The more time that passes between when you inherit them and when you get divorced, the more difficult it can be to prove how much of what you have was inherited, but there is nearly always a way to ferret it out.

No matter what type of property you are talking about, the general rule remains: If you can prove you inherited it, it can not be divided in your divorce.