Learn About Dividing Inherited Property in a Divorce
Are you dividing inherited property in your divorce? Find out what is taken into consideration in this educational video by Jean Mahserjian, one of our experienced divorce attorneys in Albany.
Download Our Free Divorce Guide
If one spouse owned a piece of property prior to the marriage, but the other spouse’s name was added to that property after the marriage, the property now is marital property. It has been gifted to the spouse who was not titled to it. That does not mean, however, that the value of the house or that the equity will be equally divided.
A court will first determine what the value of the property was at the time that it was gifted to the marital estate. The spouse who owned the property separately prior to that time has a right or a claim to a credit for that value. This spouse has the burden of proving that it was separate and what its value was at that point in time. The increase in value above that is marital property and it will be divided.