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Health & Fitness

Is Your Inheritance a Marital Asset?

You typically can keep your inheritance for yourself if you take these steps.

It’s often a good idea to keep any cash or other assets inherited from your parents or other relatives separate from assets that you share with your spouse.

First, you have the joy and peace-of-mind satisfaction of having a little something that is entirely your own to do with as you please.

Second, should you ever divorce, any inheritance that you’ve kept separate is unlikely to be considered part of the marital assets to be divided.

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On the other hand, if you place inherited cash into an account held jointly with your spouse – such as a checking, savings or stock brokerage account – your inheritance becomes a marital asset. As a marital assert, your spouse could claim rights to part of it if you later divorce.

If you inherit real estate, a business or other property, visit an estate planning attorney because there are some special precautious that you need to make to keep your inheritance a non-marital asset that’s exempt from divorce proceedings. Visit an attorney as soon as you learn of the inheritance so that you don’t accidentally jeopardize the non-marital status of the inheritance.

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An estate planning attorney may suggest, for example, a post-nup agreement which specifically addresses your inheritance. You and your spouse could agree that the inherited property remains yours and yours alone as non-marital property under certain circumstances.

If your inheritance includes a family keepsake, keep a copy of the Will or other document that verifies that you – and you alone — inherited the keepsake.

©2013 Wittenburg Law Office, PLLC. All rights reserved.

Disclaimer: This Blog is for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as legal advice. If you have questions, please seek the advice of an attorney. An attorney-client relationship is not formed by reading this Blog. If you are interested in Wittenburg Law’s representation of you, you must contact Wittenburg Law for a determination of whether your matter is one for which Wittenburg Law is willing and able to accept representation of you.

Bonnie Wittenburg, Wittenburg Law Office, PLLC, 601 Carlson Parkway, Suite 1050, Minnetonka, MN 55305     952-649-9771   bonnie@bwittenburglaw.com  www.bwittenburglaw.com

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