Share inheritance with spouse?
 

Maybe someone on AO can provide some insight, at this time this is more of a hypothetical question, but I'm sure it will/could be relevant in the future...

Is there an "obligation" or "expectation" (legal or otherwise) that an inheritance is split with one's spouse?

Is it different if you share everything (income, bank accounts, etc.), as its not necessarily the same as earned income...

Just curious.

Thanks

Peter

No there is not

I am going thru the same scenario right now

Not sharing it with your spouse just seems kind of selfish I think.

Under certain circumstances it definitely could be selfish.

In my circumstance though that isnt the case. It's a matter of future taxation, responsibilities, definitive decision making and just a general disinterest in the inheritance.

Kinda the idea of having one boss, one decision maker, less confusion and being responsible for the decisions that are made.

Inheritances do not form part of matrimonial property.

Keep the inherited funds separate from your other assets so that they can easily be tracked (as opposed to a joint bank account where there could be a disagreement as to what remains of the inherited property versus the joint property).

What I have seen in many families is when the wife gets something from her side she keeps it all. But when the husband gets something from his side he shares it....go figure .

Everyone's situation is different. My opinion is that your parents likely had their kids in mind when they did up their wills, not their significant others.

Having said that and putting myself in the position I would say that a happy marriage would lead anyone to use that money to do something that moves you forward together as that dedicated couple. Be it a vacation, paying off a mortgage, donating in memory of your late parents, setting the kids up for college etc. Healthy relationships have each partner thinking on both sides of the fence.

If this is not the case, choose your words wisely as you may stand to lose more than the inheritance in the way of a divorce .. Ha

correct-a-min-dough

read the matrimonial act of alberta my friend

The four of us siblings recevied a sizeable equal cash inheritance when our parents passed in 2020. I myself added it to the joint investment account strategy that my wife and I have . I imagine my siblings did the same thing but the key for us as mentioned previously is a stable/happy partnership with your spouse so you can enjoy it together as I think my folks intended.

Not me I bought a new boat before she could say good morning.:)

That is key, for sure.

One needs the kind of relationship that money doesn't corrupt.

Inheritance
 

My wife and I have both lost our parents and both received small inheritances. Both inheritances were placed in our joint accounts and became family assets.

The wills in both cases stipulated their children or in the event they had passed then their estates.

We have done the same with our wills. We want anything left to go to our children and if they have passed then their estates.

As ours!

My wife and i have both gotten inherentences from the passing of our parents. We had been married 20 plus years at the time the first one and we used it to help pay off our home and invest some. When my parents passed we invested it and it helped her on taxes and me on taxes the amounts that we put into RRSP's. We've been married 43 years and our choices have served us well.
Every event is different and special in it's own way.

Good Luck.

You are a very wise man and funny to boot.

Throw it into retirement savings/investments and call it a day.

i'm sure with you tim

Be cautious. One scenario I am aware of.... If farm lands are involved be sure to stipulate who those lands go to in the future should your estate roll over to your spouse. A relative had farmland that was given to him when his dad died. That land was given to his dad by his grandfather and the same land was given to the grandfather by his great grandfather. When my relative died his estate was rolled over to his wife. Even though they we married for 40+ years she had never worked on the land the whole time, nor did she work elsewhere. Within a couple years his wife decided to sell the land and lived it up instead of passing the generational land on to her sons, like her husband had intended and discussed with her. Their sons had helped with farm work while their dad was alive. She was very frivilous with the large amount of money and she passed away with little money left. She had also taken on a new partner who got the benefit of those moneys. The sons did not receive anything from their Dad's estate even though that was their Dad's intention with the generational farmland.

If you have property you would prefer going to your children in the future make sure it is written in the will. Spouses can remarry and sometimes do the unexpected.

I have heard about more than one farmer who passed away and whose wife went on to sell their land and live it up with new boyfriends or spouses. And the farmers wishes for their lands to go to their kids were disregarded.

I Have heard that many times!

it's outside of marriage/common law. Invest it as you see fit.

X2

X2

X2 again

^This^

:happy0180:

And this is why you need a will.

IMHO The best way to pass the property on is to use a trust. Prevents the spouse from going against the wishes of the testator. Also keeps the spouse from borrowing against the land and passing it on to the next generation encumbered by liens.

Actually, as one who plies the trade even having quit doing Family Law three times, and only having ONE FILE LEFT TO CLOSE to end the cancer of family law in my practice, please read the Family Property Act of Alberta. Matrimonial Property Act has been revoked, but can still be relied on for Actions commenced under the Matrimonial Property Act. Or, you can convert the action to the new Act.

However, the thorny part of the issue is preserving the inheritance exemption from division on a Divorce. If it can be traced to an ASSET, then you can claim the exemption. If you just **** it away on vacations and funny clothes, don't whine about it later.

The new act uses the value at the date of Separation, not the date of Trial. This is helpful on a long drawn out Divorce where assets are increasing in value, as was once the case before the Liberals in Ottawa crushed the Canadian Economy.

But to preserve the Asset why not just buy a Quarter of Land, and put it in the Kids' name? No one can complain about that, and the legacy gift now goes to the next generation as Gand Parents would have probably wanted anyway.

Drewski

As with all money my wife and I earn we have one account and everything goes into it, doesn't matter where it comes from. When my in-laws passed on my wife used her inheritance to pay off a vehicle and some household expenses. The last of my parents passed on this spring and the monies I've inherited will be used for household expenses. I can't figure out how people go I earn 65% and you earn 35% that's how we are paying the bills.

Same here, but to each their own I guess. I would feel weird. “Hey I inherited a million bucks! But sorry, none for you!” 🤣🤣 Having said that, I work with a ton of people who split everything, bills, his car, her car, etc. I even worked with one guy who would have post it notes on the fridge saying “so and so owes $20 for supper on Wednesday.”
Sorry for the derail. I got all caught up. 🤣

I’m with you! When my wife and I were together she got a few small inheritances from family passing. Not a bunch - a couple thousand I guess. She put it in our joint account and it just went to “life”. Bills etc. I know it wasn’t a bunch but still. And if we get back together at some point and I inherit money- it will go in the joint account as well to be used by both of us. Heck- she put up with my family for a lot of years lol. I am a believer in money joint and always felt separate accounts and owing each other for diner or groceries etc is creates a divide. To me it feels like a lack of trust. But I’m also the guy that believes a man’s job is to financially support his family. I also couldn’t imagine not being the bread winner and relying on my wife to bring in the dough. Because I do believe that many wives already do ALOT to contribute to the home and family. I think men can atleast take one thing off their plate lol. So… I know I’m old fashioned and lots of you may disagree with my thoughts but hey- we are who we are.