Is my inheritance safe?
The question of whether or not an inheritance is subject to equitable distribution has gotten a lot of attention. Take a look at the following excerpt from Spencer v. Spencer which finds that inheritance is separate property, but its appreciated value is marital property...
Excerpt from Stencer v. Stencer, 646 N.Y.S.2d 674, 230 A.D.2d 645Decided August 15, 1996
The trial court properly concluded that an inheritance received by the plaintiff from his brother and sister, and thereafter placed in the Merrill Lynch investment account, was his separate property upon receipt, and that he continued to maintain this asset as separate throughout the marriage ( McGarrity v McGarrity, 211 A.D.2d 669, 622 N.Y.S.2d 521; Alaimo v Alaimo, 199 A.D.2d 1039, 606 N.Y.S.2d 117; Feldman v Feldman, supra). The fact that the plaintiff may have made withdrawals from his separate account to pay marital expenses does not alter this conclusion ( Feldman, supra, at 216), as there was insufficient evidence of commingling to conclude that this account was transmuted into marital property.
Pursuant to Domestic Relations Law § 236(B) (1) (d) (3), however, the appreciation of this account, due to the plaintiff's management during the marriage, must be credited to the defendant, who is entitled to a fifty percent share of such appreciated value during the marriage as part of the marital estate. As recognized by the Court of Appeals in Price v Price (supra, at 17), "where separate property of one spouse has appreciated during the marriage and before execution of a separation agreement or commencement of a matrimonial proceeding ... 'due in part' to the contributions or efforts of the non-titled spouse as parent and homemaker, the amount of that appreciation should be added to the sum of marital property for equitable distribution" (DRL § 236 [5]; see, also, Hartog v Hartog, 194 A.D.2d 286, 291-292, 605 N.Y.S.2d 749, affd as modified by Hartog v Hartog, 85 N.Y.2d 36, 623 N.Y.S.2d 537, 647 N.E.2d 749). Here, the plaintiff used his experience in accounting and taxation to manage the investments in the inheritance accounts with his son. Since the defendant indirectly contributed to the appreciation of this asset by handling the household matters, thereby permitting her husband the freedom to devote energy to his financial endeavors ( Price, supra, at 16), her contribution should be given consideration in the distribution of the appreciated value of this asset...
