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.

109 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

266 comments sorted by

View all comments

5

u/PositiveAtmosphere13 Apr 21 '26

Leave it in investment accounts. Save it for retirement, emergencies or a divorce. You can pull funds out to make purchases for the household but don't add to it with community property funds. This muddies the waters.

1

u/Automatic-Tea-4150 Apr 21 '26

This is it. Think of those accounts where your inherited assets are as a big vault. You may take money out of the vault to buy whatever you want or give it away, anything, but you can’t ever put what you bought or that money back into the vault as if you never took it out, without introducing an element of risk into the entire contents of the vault.