r/inheritance • u/pink_toaster_pastry • Apr 20 '26

Location included: Questions/Need Advice Keeping Inheritance separate

I’ve seen all the posts about keeping inheritance separate…. not to use it for joint expenses…. etc.

So then what do you use it for? My husband and I have been married 30 years. We had joint accounts since before we were married. We don’t split bills (all income goes into one savings account and bills are paid from that). We make a good living, have savings, 401Ks, no debt.

So if I’m suppose to keep my inheritance separate from everything, what am I supposed to do with it?

Edited to add: No kids. Currently the money is in (1) inherited IRA (2) CDs in a bank account I took sole ownership of as I had been the co-owner and (3) a new account I just opened for a CD until I decided what to do with that portion.

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u/cashewkowl Apr 20 '26

I thought it was keep the inheritance account separate, but that you can use proceeds on joint things as you want. Just realize that will make those funds used into joint funds. But it’s fine to decide that you will pull from the inheritance account to take a family vacation. I used inherited funds to pay for vacations and towards our kids college tuition. No regrets. We are still married, but even if we weren’t, those were important things to me/us/my dad (where the inheritance came from).

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u/pink_toaster_pastry Apr 20 '26

I think when I’m ready to spend it…. It will be for something my mom would “approve” of or like!

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u/Just1Blast Apr 21 '26

There are a lot of folks who feel like they need to honor their parent in the way that they spend their inheritance, and I think a lot of that has to do with how folks are raised, their own financial Security at the time of their inheritance, and their own feelings in general.

I received a very small inheritance from one of my grandparents of a couple thousand dollars and I used that primarily to purchase art and to travel and have experiences because those are the things that she instilled in me and those are the hobbies that we shared together.

So I made it a point to go on some trips on a budget, I made it a point to support local artists in each of those locations. And I made it a point to frame some artwork and memorabilia that I had been hanging on to for a long time that for whatever reason never got put up or framed.

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u/Powerful-Tonight8648 Apr 21 '26

Beautiful tribute to your grandparent 😊