Q: To a NY att'y. who specializes in matrimonial law
I know someone who is legally separated from her husband on account of his alcoholism and abuse. She has custody of their two children. She and her family of origin are impoverished. The husband's mother is very elderly and very wealthy. Does the wife &/or do the children have any right independent of any will to a greater stake of the husband's inheritance if she'll stay separated from him; or, if she'll divorce him now? I believe that there's no pre-nup..
A: All income or assets acquired during the marriage are presumed to be marital assets. However, that presumption can be overcome if a party is able to show the separate nature of a particular asset. So, if the husband is careful to keep the inheritance separate from other marital funds, he will a good argument that the inheritance is his separate asset.
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