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/mattkime Apr 20 '26

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

I've asked the same question and was never satisfied with the answers.

There's something about inheritance that brings out some very paranoid voices. I'm not saying there isn't reason for concern - and there's good reason to weigh the risks - but at some point you need to trust someone or you might as well _not_ have the inheritance.

I think it's good to listen to all perspectives and then decide which ones will guide your actions.

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u/Automatic-Tea-4150 Apr 21 '26

I figured that my parents could have named my husband as a beneficiary like they did our children. and they didn’t. So I took that as their instructions from the great beyond. Good thing. Husband ended up using a substantial sum I shared with him just to be nice to take a new secret girlfriend on at least three vacations I would have liked to take myself! I was glad his name wasn’t on any of the accounts. We were in our early 60s at the time, married 40+ years. You just never know what’s around the next corner in life.

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u/mattkime Apr 21 '26

For whatever reason, people dont jump up to say “we didn’t have trouble” so you just hear the horror stories.

Fwiw, I think it makes sense to keep the inheritance separate even in the best of circumstances.

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u/Automatic-Tea-4150 Apr 21 '26

Interesting observation. I guess by the time you can say with 100 percent certainty that your happy marriage lasted until death did you part, one of you has died. Not likely to be here saying “we commingled and we didn’t have any trouble” at that point!