Anticipated inheritance under a Will during Divorce Proceedings

When the Family Court consider the matrimonial pot of assets to be divided during Divorce Proceedings, the Court treat "anticipated inheritance" differently to inherited wealth which has already been received.

The main argument behind this is that the family member who you anticipate will leave you (or your spouse) the inheritance may change their mind. Therefore the Court do not attach great weight onto merely "a hope or expectation" of receiving inheritance, as there is no guarantee that the exception will be fulfilled.

The main case decided in by the Family Court on this point is called “Her Royal Highness Tessy Princess of Luxembourg”. The court stated that a parties expectation to receive an asset under a Will or through the intestacy rules can “rarely” be considered an asset to be divided during divorce proceedings, due to the uncertainties surrounding whether or not the asset will materialise in the foreseeable future. 

Put simply, if you are named as a beneficiary under a Will and you are going through Divorce Proceedings, the Court will be unwilling to treat you as already owning the asset in question, particularly if the family member who presently owns the asset is still alive and is capable of changing their mind. 

However, the position is different once the inherited asset becomes owned by you and in this circumstance the inherited asset could be considered by the court. 

If you would like any further information or advice in relation to inherited wealth and divorce, our specialist family lawyers are happy to help. Our lawyers have offices based in Wolverhampton and Cradley Heath and provide assistance to clients across the West Midlands including: Stourbridge, Kidderminster, Birmingham, Dudley and Walsall.  For all new enquiries, please call 01902 328 355, alternatively you can complete our online enquiry form and a member of our team will respond.