What If I Put My Inheritance Money Into A Joint Bank Account With My Partner?
It’s certainly not uncommon to have joint bank accounts with your partner or spouse. If you put your inheritance money into a jointly held bank account with your partner, then the status of your inheritance money remaining in a joint account is often a concern. From case law it’s become clear that inheritance money will not automatically lose its separate property status, merely because it’s been placed into a joint bank account. Questions as to its separate property status will only arise where money has been “intermingled” with other relationship property that it may be “unreasonable or impracticable” to now regard such inheritance funds as separate property.
One example of when inheritance money held in a joint bank account will remain separate property, is when such funds remain untouched in an account and therefore separately identifiable and traceable. An example of when such funds may become relationship property, is when such funds are withdrawn and used for general living expenses (i.e. food and household bills) to a point where such funds are unable to be identified, having been used for such general living purposes.
