An inheritance can sometimes be protected from being shared on divorce in England and Wales, but it is not automatically excluded from a financial settlement.
Whether inherited money or property remains separate depends on its source, when it was acquired, how it has been used during the marriage and the financial circumstances of both spouses.
Inherited assets are sometimes treated differently from wealth built up during a marriage. However, the court may still need to consider those assets, particularly where there is insufficient money or property elsewhere to meet both parties' reasonable financial needs.
If you have received an inheritance, expect to inherit family wealth or are concerned that your spouse may make a claim against inherited assets, understanding the legal position can help you make informed decisions.
How Is Inheritance Treated In Divorce?
When deciding financial arrangements on divorce, courts in England and Wales distinguish between matrimonial property and non-matrimonial property.
Matrimonial property generally includes assets generated throughout the marriage or resulting from the couple's shared efforts. Examples can include savings accumulated during the marriage, investments acquired from marital income and the family home.
Non-matrimonial property typically includes:
- Assets owned by one spouse before marriage (does not include the family home).
- Money or property inherited from a family member.
- Certain gifts received personally from someone outside the marriage.
This distinction matters because the sharing principle, under which matrimonial property is normally shared equally unless there is a reason for a different division, does not apply to non-matrimonial property.
However, inherited wealth may become matrimonial property depending on how it is treated during the marriage. Even where an inheritance remains non-matrimonial, the court can consider it when assessing financial needs.
Is My Spouse Entitled To My Inheritance?
Your spouse is not automatically entitled to half of your inheritance simply because you are married.
Whether inherited money or property may affect the financial settlement depends on several factors, including:
- Whether the inheritance has remained separate from matrimonial assets.
- How the money or property has been used during the relationship.
- Whether both spouses have treated the inheritance as part of their shared finances.
- The duration and circumstances of the marriage.
- The financial resources and needs of both spouses.
- Whether there are sufficient other assets to achieve a fair settlement.
For example, someone who inherited an investment portfolio and kept it separate from the family's finances may be in a different position from someone who used inherited funds to purchase the family home.
The original source of the wealth can be important, but it is not the only consideration.
Our divorce and financial settlement solicitors can advise on how inherited assets may affect financial arrangements following separation.
What Does The Law Say About Protecting Inherited Assets?
The Supreme Court provided important clarification about the treatment of non-matrimonial property in July 2025.
In Standish v Standish [2025] UKSC 26, the court confirmed that the sharing principle applies to matrimonial property, not non-matrimonial property.
This means that assets genuinely remaining non-matrimonial should not be divided simply because matrimonial property is ordinarily subject to sharing between spouses.
However, the Supreme Court also confirmed that non-matrimonial property can still be relevant to financial needs and compensation.
The judgment also addressed matrimonialisation, which describes circumstances in which property that was initially non-matrimonial becomes matrimonial property.
The central issue is how the parties have treated the asset over time. Where an inheritance is consistently used and treated as shared wealth, that may affect its classification.
Importantly, the name in which an asset is held does not, by itself, determine whether it is matrimonial property.
Although Standish did not concern a conventional inheritance dispute, its clarification of these principles is directly relevant to inherited wealth.
Does It Matter Whether You Inherited Before Or During Marriage?
The timing of an inheritance can be relevant, although there is no automatic rule that protects money received before marriage or excludes money inherited afterwards.
Inheritance received before marriage
If you inherited money or property before getting married, the source of that property may support an argument that it is non-matrimonial property.
For example, you might have inherited a rental property several years before meeting your spouse and continued to retain it separately throughout the marriage.
That history may be relevant when determining whether the property should be shared.
However, the position could be different if it subsequently became the family home or was otherwise incorporated into the couple's shared financial arrangements.
Inheritance received during marriage
An inheritance received during marriage can also remain non-matrimonial property.
Receiving an inheritance after your wedding does not automatically give your spouse a right to share it.
What matters is the origin of the wealth and how it is subsequently treated.
For example, inherited money retained separately as an investment may be treated differently from inheritance used to purchase a home in which both spouses live, although it will still be viewed as a financial resource
Inheritance received after separation
An inheritance received after separation may also be regarded as non-matrimonial property.
However, its relevance to a financial settlement will depend on the circumstances, including whether the other spouse's financial needs can be met without it.
Separation alone does not bring all financial claims between spouses to an end.
What If Inherited Money Has Been Used For The Family Home?
The family home is particularly important when considering how inherited assets are treated on divorce.
Suppose you inherit £150,000 and use it towards the deposit on a property where you and your spouse subsequently live together.
Although the funds originated from your inheritance, the property will be treated as matrimonial because it has become the family home.
The fact that you provided the deposit does not necessarily mean you will recover that amount if the marriage ends.
Similarly, inherited money used to repay a mortgage or fund major improvements to the family home may become difficult to distinguish from the couple's shared wealth.
This does not mean that the original source of the money becomes irrelevant. The inherited contribution may still be important, depending on the circumstances.
However, the family home generally occupies a special position in financial remedy proceedings and is treated as matrimonial property.
It is therefore sensible to understand the possible implications before using substantial inherited funds to purchase or improve a shared home.
Will Keeping An Inheritance In A Separate Account Protect It?
Keeping inherited money in a separate account may help demonstrate that it has remained distinct from matrimonial finances.
It can also make it easier to identify the source of the funds and show how they have been managed.
For example, retaining inherited money in an account held solely in your name, rather than routinely transferring it into a joint account, may help establish its history.
However, a separate bank account does not guarantee that an inheritance will be protected from financial claims.
The court will consider the circumstances, including how the money has been treated during the marriage and whether it is needed to meet financial needs.
The same applies to assets held in one spouse's sole name. Legal ownership is relevant but does not, on its own, determine how property will be treated in a divorce settlement.
Can An Inherited Property Remain Separate In Divorce?
Yes. An inherited property may remain non-matrimonial, particularly where it has not been used as the family home or otherwise incorporated into shared financial arrangements.
For example, someone might inherit a property from a parent and continue letting it to tenants, keeping records of its ownership, rental income and expenditure.
The property's inherited origin and subsequent treatment may support an argument that it should remain outside the assets subject to the sharing principle.
However, the position could be affected by whether:
- The property has been used as the family home.
- Marital funds have been invested in it.
- Rental income or sale proceeds have been incorporated into shared finances.
- The spouses have treated the property as a shared asset over time.
- Its value is relevant to meeting financial needs.
Where inherited property forms part of a substantial portfolio, family estate or trust arrangement, the financial and legal issues may become more involved.
Our high net worth divorce solicitors advise on financial arrangements involving significant and complex assets, including inherited and family wealth.
Does The Length Of The Marriage Affect Inheritance?
The duration of a marriage is relevant to the court's overall assessment, but it does not automatically determine whether an inheritance is matrimonial or non-matrimonial.
In a shorter marriage, inherited assets that have remained separate may be easier to distinguish from wealth generated during the relationship.
In a longer marriage, there may have been more opportunity for inherited money or property to be incorporated into the family's established financial arrangements.
However, an inheritance does not automatically become matrimonial property simply because the marriage has lasted many years.
The court will consider the source of the wealth, the parties' treatment of it over time and their wider financial circumstances.
What Happens If There Are Not Enough Other Assets To Meet Both Spouses' Needs?
This is one of the most important limitations on protecting inherited wealth.
Even where an inheritance remains non-matrimonial property, it may still be relevant to achieving a fair financial settlement.
Under section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, the court considers factors including each spouse's financial resources, income, earning capacity, needs and responsibilities, as well as the duration of the marriage and other relevant circumstances.
The court must also give first consideration to the welfare of any child of the family who is under 18.
For example, imagine a couple has limited savings and a modest family home, but one spouse also owns a substantial inherited investment portfolio.
If the matrimonial assets are insufficient to meet the parties' reasonable housing and income needs, the court may need to consider the inherited wealth when deciding what financial provision is appropriate.
This does not necessarily mean the inheritance will be divided equally.
The distinction is between sharing matrimonial property and considering the financial resources available to achieve a fair outcome.
What About An Inheritance You Have Not Yet Received?
An expected inheritance is different from money or property that you already own.
For example, you might expect to inherit your parents' home or a share of family investments in the future.
However, an expectation does not necessarily mean you currently have a legally enforceable entitlement to those assets.
A parent may change their will, assets may be spent during their lifetime, or the eventual inheritance may differ significantly from what was anticipated.
The court can consider financial resources that a spouse has or is likely to have in the foreseeable future. However, the treatment of a possible inheritance will depend on the particular circumstances, including how certain and imminent it is.
A remote or speculative expectation is not equivalent to an inheritance already received.
Where substantial family wealth is expected, legal advice can help clarify whether that expectation may be relevant to financial proceedings.
Can A Prenuptial Or Postnuptial Agreement Help Protect An Inheritance?
A prenuptial or postnuptial agreement can help couples record their intentions about how inherited wealth should be treated if their marriage ends.
Such agreements may be particularly relevant where one spouse already owns inherited assets or receives significant family wealth during the marriage.
However, neither type of agreement provides an absolute guarantee that inherited assets will be excluded from a divorce settlement.
Prenuptial agreements and inheritance
A prenuptial agreement is made before marriage.
It can identify inherited assets, describe how the couple intends to treat them and record proposed financial arrangements in the event of divorce.
For example, someone entering marriage with inherited property might want the agreement to record their intention that the property remain separate.
Our prenuptial agreement solicitors can advise on preparing and reviewing agreements involving existing assets and anticipated family wealth.
Postnuptial agreements and inheritance
A postnuptial agreement is made after a couple has married.
This may be particularly relevant if one spouse unexpectedly receives an inheritance during the marriage.
For example, a couple might decide to document how an inherited investment portfolio should be treated and whether its income will be used for family purposes.
Our postnuptial agreement solicitors can advise on whether an agreement would be appropriate and how its terms might address inherited wealth.
Are prenuptial and postnuptial agreements legally binding?
In England and Wales, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements are not automatically enforceable in the same way as ordinary commercial contracts.
However, the courts can give significant weight to agreements entered into freely, with a proper understanding of their implications, where it would be fair to hold the parties to them.
Relevant considerations include financial disclosure, independent legal advice, whether either party was placed under undue pressure and whether the proposed arrangements are fair.
An agreement that fails to make appropriate provision for financial needs, including the needs of children, is unlikely to achieve the intended protection.
It is therefore important to obtain individual legal advice rather than assume that signing an agreement will automatically prevent a financial claim.
How Can You Help Protect Your Inheritance From Divorce?
Although no single step guarantees that an inheritance will remain unaffected by divorce, there are practical measures that may help establish its source, ownership and intended treatment.
- Keep clear records of the inheritance
Retain relevant documents, including estate accounts, correspondence from executors, bank statements and records of property transfers. These may help demonstrate how and when inherited assets were acquired.
- Consider how inherited money is held and used
Keeping inherited funds separate from everyday joint finances may make their history easier to establish. However, it does not guarantee that they will be excluded from a financial settlement.
- Think carefully before using inheritance for shared assets
Using inherited money towards a family home or another shared asset may affect how that wealth is treated if the marriage ends. Understanding the implications beforehand can help prevent unexpected consequences.
- Consider a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement
An appropriately prepared agreement can record both spouses' intentions concerning inherited wealth. Its effectiveness will depend on the circumstances and the fairness of its terms.
- Obtain legal advice before making significant financial changes
If separation or divorce is being considered, transferring, gifting or concealing assets in an attempt to protect them can create serious legal difficulties.
Full and frank financial disclosure is important in financial remedy proceedings. Decisions about inherited assets should therefore be made carefully and with appropriate advice.
Does Divorce Also Affect Inheritance Tax And Estate Planning?
Protecting inherited wealth during divorce is a separate question from understanding the inheritance tax consequences of changes to your own estate.
Divorce may also make it appropriate to review your will, inheritance tax planning and wider financial arrangements.
For more information about these related considerations, read our article on inheritance tax and divorce.
Speak To Monan Gozzett About Inheritance And Divorce
If you have inherited money or property and are concerned about how it may be treated in a divorce, Monan Gozzett's Family Law team can advise you on your circumstances.
Whether you are planning ahead, considering a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement, or already dealing with financial arrangements following separation, understanding your legal position can help you make informed decisions.
Contact Monan Gozzett to discuss your circumstances with our Family Law team.
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Please note that we are unable to offer free legal advice. Our client services team are here to take your case details and explain any costs involved