Is my Spouse Entitled to my Inheritance after a Divorce?

When things are not going your way and you feel that they are messing up your life and your relationship is affecting your life in the worst possible way. You might think the situation is still under control and do the best you could to save the relationship but all your efforts don’t work out then you go for making a decision.

The decision of ending a relationship and when you make this decision you need some guidance about the laws related to it. If you decide on getting a divorce. You will need some guidance about What is the name of financial support you will be able to receive? Which one of you will get the child’s custody?

What share of marital property you will receive? And Is there any share of your spouse in your inheritance? And to guide you and assist you in resolving your queries and problems you need a professional lawyer. Assistance from a good divorce attorney during this turbulent time can give you the peace of mind you need to focus on your individual goals while the litigation is handled by the attorneys.

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On the other hand, when you think about getting divorced, you might not be thinking about the other things associated with it and the aftereffects of a divorce. There are a lot of things to deal with when you are getting divorced.

Having to deal with a divorce can be a very challenging time if you have any questions visit orlandodivorcelawyers.net for more information. Orlando divorce attorneys.

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To know that your spouse is entitled to your inheritance you should look at the different aspects of the law that deals with property division after divorce. Your spouse may or may not be entitled to your inheritance depending upon the different factors that can be your spouse’s contribution to enhancing the value of your property, how your property is titled, your spouse’s contribution in paying mortgages, etc.

Due to state laws, the inheritance may also affect child support payments. The federal Child Support Enforcement Act of 1984 requires each state to develop its own set of systematic guidelines for calculating awards of child support. So based on the state where the divorce is taking place the inheritance can have an impact on the payments.

Page Contents

Equitable Distribution

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If we talk about the division of belongings after divorce, there is a law named “Equitable distribution”. It allows each spouse to get out of the marriage bond with the property they own as well as a proportional share of the property earned during a marriage.

However, items such as homes, stock options, retirement savings can have a mix of premarital and marital aspects and can be difficult to divide. Although the court starts with an idea that all needs an equal division but a court may choose to do an unequal distribution based on the documents and case findings.

But this law is applied to recognized marriages whereas in Florida common law marriages that are the marriages without a formal ceremony and marriage license are not recognized. Florida’s laws for Equitable Distribution are applied to legal marriages only.

Marital property and Non-Marital property

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The Equitable Distribution law applies to marital property. Marital belongings includes all the property acquired during the course of a marriage and the gifts you received from your spouse during the course of a marriage.

But an agreement before marriage about the rights of property and support after divorce referred to as prenuptial agreement can also set it apart from Equitable distribution. Non-marital property includes the belongings acquired before the marriage. Retirement plan and Inheritance are therefore non-marital belongings but there are exceptions in which your spouse can be entitled to your inheritance.

That is when the Inheritance is jointly titled or commingled (combined) with marital assets or properties. An example can be a bank account with money inherited to you and you added your spouse to it then your spouse may be entitled to it because in these cases it is difficult to identify the separate asset and the combined asset.

Properties Having Mixed Components

Some properties are a mixture of marital and non-marital that is some properties have both components in them. That is property may have both marital and non-marital components in it. This kind of property is divided differently.

Inheritance Having Mixed components

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As the topic that is to be discussed here is inheritance so let’s discuss how an inheritance can come to this category.

If the inherited asset or belongings increased in value due to the work of one of the spouses, then the spouse will be entitled to the increment in the value of the property.

Considering a similar case, if both the spouses worked to increase the value of the belongings then the increment in value with be considered as marital belongings and will be divided as under the law of equitable distribution.

If under some circumstances the property of a spouse goes into the debt and the other spouse paid the debt. The other spouse will be entitled to it.

If the mortgage of the inherited property of one of the spouses is paid by the other one. The other one would be entitled to the property.

Conflicts usually arise over inheritances between couples undergoing a divorce. In some cases, the inheritance legally became community property between the individuals. This largely depends on state law, but there are some scenarios in which one spouse can circumvent community property law and retain assets or money awarded specifically to him or her.

Conclusion

In the end, it can be said that the entitlement of your spouse on your inheritance depends totally upon the type of belongings it is under the Equitable distribution law. If your inheritance is commingled then your spouse is entitled to it and if it is not but some part of it comes under the marital property then it will be divided according to the Equitable Distribution law.