Will My Inheritance Be Divided in Our Divorce?

 Posted on November 11, 2026 in Property Division

An inheritance is usually your property in an Illinois divorce, even if you received it during the marriage. Exceptions apply primarily based on how you used the money or property over the course of your marriage.

For high-asset couples, inherited money is often tied up in something like a family home, an investment account, or a family business. If you’re divorcing in 2026, a Kane County, IL property division lawyer can help you separate your assets from the marital estate and protect what belongs to you.

Is an Inheritance Marital Property in Illinois?

Illinois typically treats an inheritance as non-marital property. Under 750 ILCS 5/503(a)(1), property acquired by "gift, legacy or descent" belongs to the spouse who received it. Property you buy with inheritance money is non-marital as well.

Most property acquired during a marriage is presumed to be marital, or to belong to both spouses. To keep an inheritance separate, you’ll need to prove it came from an estate or a trust and stayed apart from your marital money. Courts will expect "clear and convincing" evidence that this is the case.

Income your inheritance earns, like rent or dividends, can also be non-marital. The exception is income that came from your own work, such as managing an inherited rental property yourself.

Can an Inheritance Become Marital Property in Illinois?

An inheritance can lose its protection when it’s mixed with marital assets. Illinois calls this commingling. When inherited property is mixed into marital property and loses its identity, it becomes marital. However, when marital property is contributed to non-marital property and loses its identity, the result can remain non-marital. If both are combined into newly acquired property and their separate identities are lost, the new property is treated as marital (750 ILCS 5/503(c)).

Common ways inherited assets get mixed with the marital estate include:

• Depositing an inheritance into a joint checking or brokerage account
• Using inherited money for a down payment on a home titled to both spouses
• Using inherited money to contribute to a business you started after you got married
• Paying down a marital mortgage or other joint debt with inherited funds
• Adding your spouse’s name to an inherited property’s deed or account

If the inherited money can be adequately traced, the court can treat it as non-marital or reimburse you for it. Reimbursement isn’t available if the contribution was a gift to the marriage or can’t be traced.

Can an Inheritance Still Affect Your Divorce Even if It Remains Separate Property?

A protected inheritance can still play a role in your divorce. When the court divides marital property, it considers each spouse’s economic situation, including the non-marital property each one keeps. A spouse with a large inheritance sometimes receives a smaller share of the marital estate.

An inheritance can also come up in spousal maintenance. The court looks at each spouse’s income and property, and investment income from an inheritance can be considered. This is often more relevant in high-asset cases, where the inherited assets are sometimes worth more than the marital estate.

How Can You Protect an Inheritance in a High-Asset Illinois Divorce?

You will want to have the documents that show where the inheritance came from and where it went available during your case. These include the will or trust, estate distribution records, and bank or brokerage statements from the date you received the funds.

Statements showing that the money stayed in an account in only your name can help. So can records of any large transfers out of that account. If years have passed since the inheritance was received and purchases have been made, an accountant can help trace the funds.

A prenuptial or postnuptial agreement can also state that an inheritance stays separate. If you expect to inherit while you’re still married, a postnuptial agreement can set clear terms ahead of a divorce.

Call a St. Charles, IL High Asset Divorce Lawyer Today

An inheritance often carries family history as well as financial value, making the thought of losing it in your divorce even more difficult. Our Kane County, IL property division attorneys can review your records and help you prove to the court what is yours.

Our main attorney is a trained mediator with significant family law experience. We focus on resolving property questions through mediation when possible, but we’re prepared to litigate aggressively in court when a case needs it.

Call Shaw Sanders, P.C. at 630-584-5550 to schedule your free consultation.