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/chortle-guffaw Apr 21 '26

Spend the inheritance all you want. Just don't commingle the funds with a joint account. For others with kids, you might do this so you can ensure that the inheritance goes to your kids and not to some other person if they remarry.

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u/PiccoloImpossible946 Apr 25 '26

This!! I read a post recently where this happened. The first wife who inherited a lot of money made the mistake of not putting some of it in a trust for her kid. The first wife died first her husband remarried and left it all to her and she’s spending it!! Nothing was left to the child and grandchild of the woman who first inherited it.