Is my potential inheritance relevant to property settlement?

Clients who expect to receive an inheritance often ask us whether it will be relevant to determining property settlement matters with their former spouse. The answer will depend on the facts of each matter, but an inheritance that is expected to be received in the very near future will be, more often than not, relevant to property settlement matters.

The family law courts adopt the following process in determining how parties' assets will be divided upon separation:

1. The court will look at whether it is just and equitable to make an order adjusting the parties' property by identifying the existing legal and equitable interests of the parties, being the net asset pool.
2. If it is just and equitable to make an order, it will assess the parties' respective contributions to the asset pool and determine how to divide the property pool based upon those contributions.