Legal Question in Family Law in Ohio
inheritance
My wife and I have been living seperate for about 3 yrs now since we signed divorce papers,but I have not received any papers myself.My question is , both my parents have passed away and everything was left in my sisters name except for a cd we just found out about in which we each get 15 thousand.Is my ex(?) entitled to anything? (she is the one that left me and cheated on me).We also have 2 girls7and15 ,joint custody, I pay child support and get them whatever they need ,and pay for private school , she was told she would supply insurance and she is not happy about ins.. she just found out about my parents house being sold by my sister and is angry about having get insurance through the state and having to cut her hours, ( remember she left me) I am tired of her making me feel guilty about everything ,I would be glad to take the girls but they went through enough seeing their grand parents die, uncle,cousin and then the divorce. What can I do? P S she also claims both children at the end of the year which means I have to pay or else increase the tax taken out of my checks which are already small. THANK YOU
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: inheritance
Unless your ex-wife was named in the will, she is not entitled to any amount that you inherit.
Re: inheritance
Marital property is treated as being owned equally by the parties and is divided at the time of divorce. The real issue becomes what is and what is not marital property! That is not always an easy question to answer. That being said, there is an answer to your question.
Money received from an inheritance should not be considered marital property as long as the money is not co-mingled with marital property. If you keep it in a separate account in just your name you should be OK. You should not have any trouble doing that since you are already separated.
Keep in mind that any information that I give you in response to your question should not be relied on in making decisions. The information is accurate but how the law applies to your case can only be determined after looking at a lot more informaton.
It may be time to get things finalized. You need to get an attorney and make sure you protect your position. The taxes and other issues that you raised are all legitimat concerns. If you already have an attorney, call and talk to him or her about getting some closure on the marriage at least.
If you don't have an attorney and want to discuss this further, I will be glad to spend a few minutes with you-no cost or obligation.
Good Luck
DHD