Property you inherit is your separate property in Georgia and is not subject to equitable division in a divorce.
What the Court Held
In Bailey v. Bailey, 250 Ga. 15 (1982), the Georgia Supreme Court held that “property acquired during the marriage by either party by gift, inheritance, bequest or devise remains the separate property of the party that acquired it, and is not subject to equitable division.” So it does not matter that your inheritance arrived in the middle of the marriage. What matters is where it came from.
Why Inheritances Are Treated This Way
Equitable division reaches only what the marriage itself built. In Payson v. Payson, 274 Ga. 231 (2001), the Georgia Supreme Court explained that “[o]nly property acquired as a direct result of the labor and investments of the parties during the marriage is subject to equitable division.” An inheritance is not the product of either spouse’s work during the marriage, so it falls outside what a judge divides.
Putting Your Spouse’s Name on It
An inheritance is protected until you do something that gives it away. In Shaw v. Shaw, 290 Ga. 354 (2012), a husband inherited money from his mother and opened two brokerage accounts in his name and his wife’s as joint tenants with right of survivorship. He also had inherited Florida land deeded to himself and his wife as tenants in common. The Georgia Supreme Court held that he had “manifested an intent to transform his own separate property into marital property,” and both were divided in the divorce.
Even though every dollar came from his mother, and even though his wife had never contributed anything to either asset, that made no difference once her name was on the title.
So how you hold an inheritance can matter as much as where it came from.
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This post is a quick overview of the law and is not intended as legal advice. Please feel free to contact our office for a consultation if you have questions about this or any other legal aspects regarding your case!