Will your spouse get one-half of house that you inherited?

Eric: I might be inheriting a house soon. I'm just wondering is do I got to get my wife to fill out some type of paperwork or something so she can't take half it from me or something? Because it's mine and [crosstalk]--

Attorney Tom Olsen: Is the home located in Florida, Eric?

Eric: Yes, it is.

Tom: Okay. Eric, the general rule here in the state of Florida is what you inherit is yours to keep if you get divorced, as long as you keep that asset in your name only. Eric, if you inherit this piece of property from your parents and you keep that piece of property in your name and somewhere down the line you get divorced, you're going to leave with that property. Eric, if after you inherit this property, if you do a deed and you add your wife's name to it and you get divorced, she's going to get one-half. If after you inherit this property, you sell it and you take the sale proceeds and you put it into a joint account with your wife and you get divorced, she's going to leave with one-half. Eric, does that answer your question for you?

Eric: Well, pretty much. What if I sell it and don't put it in it-- just put it in my bank account or something. Do I have to have it in a trust?

Tom: Same thing is going to apply. Now, Eric, what I'd want you to make sure that you do is that you don't commingle that money with joint marital funds so that if you get 300,000 from the sale of this home, that 300,000 is always-- Never commingle with joint assets. You wouldn't want to take $10,000 from a joint account and put it into this account that's got the $300,000 from the sale of house assets. Does that make sense to you, Eric?

Eric: Just keep it clean and that's it. Just keep it there. Okay.

Tom: Keep it clean, and that $300,000, it may grow, but same thing's going to apply when you get divorced down the road.

Eric: Okay, Tom, I really appreciate your time. Thank you very much.

Tom: Hey, you're very welcome, Eric. [unintelligible 00:01:58], the good news is he's not going to have to talk to his wife and have her sign a form that says, "I don't want anything."

Attorney Holley Knapik: Right, exactly, because it's inherited.

Tom: If he really wanted to, it'd be through a post-nuptial agreement. Eric, in this situation, I don't think it's necessary

[00:02:11] [END OF AUDIO]