Harry Nosworthy, barrister at 4PB, examines the implications for inheritances received by a spouse during marriage, and the use of tax planning measures, in light of the Standish decision
Over 23 million UK adults rely on an inheritance, to some extent, with over a quarter of people admitting they will go into debt without it, new data reveals. High net worths are far from exempt from this issue, as many individuals’ wealth portfolios are tightly aligned with their family members. The treatment of an individual’s inheritance on divorce is therefore of considerable importance.
On divorce the family court will seek to draw a distinction between ‘matrimonial property’, ie, wealth that has been the product of the marriage partnership, and ‘non matrimonial property’, ie, wealth which has come from a source outside of the marriage, such as an inheritance, or wealth that existed prior to the marriage.
The e
