Inheritance

[candlestick]

Newbie from Nova Scoita.
Divorcing after 19yrs.
I opened a 'stock' trading acct in Sept/08 and put 8k of my RSP money in it.
In Feb/09 we put 67k of my wifes inheritance in it. (Account in my name).
Now she wants it all back because it was an inheritance. I also made about 10k using some of my original investment and some of her inheritance.
Because she gave me the money to put in an account in my name, isn't that the same as saying, 'here, take the money, it's OURS, and go make us some more'?
Do you think she can get it all back?
Thanks

[billm]

Do you think she should get it all back?

[candlestick]

No. 50/50. We spent a good chunk of it. There is only about 34k left.

[mominont]

Do I have the numbers correct?

You put in 8000.00 dollars,
Wife put 67,000 dollars.

total = 75,000 + 10,000 (what you made)

Grand total of 85,000 dollars.

Amount left in Account = 34,000.00

Honestly I don't think you should play the stock market any longer. I would ask for the money back too!

[candlestick]

That's funny. We spent a load of it. 10k was purely profit.

[billiechic]

If it was her inheritance, you should not be entitled to it.

Yes, she put it in an account under your name, trusting that you would invest it wisely and make money. It's not like she paid off joint debts or anything, it is still cash and should still be hers.

What did you spend the chunk on? Did you benefit from the things she purchased? You do know she had no obligation to share, but she did. Be happy with that and give her back what is left.

[candlestick]

I'm not asking what you think I should do, I'm asking what is the law under my circumstance. If you don't know the law, I would appreciate your best legal guess. That's all I'm looking for.
Thanks in advance.

[representingself]

The law is very clear on insurance money...

It's hers.... and it is excluded from consideration when dividing marital assets.

There is no 50/50 for you.

[candlestick]

So, I wonder what this guy is saying....

The Items That Are Not Included In Net Family Property Calculations

As mentioned above, there are certain items such as life insurance proceeds, gifts, inheritances, and personal injury awards that may not have to be included in your net family property. To exclude these from your net family property, you must have kept these items separate from your other property, and be able to trace these funds from the day you received them.

Not only was it not kept separate, it was kept in an account in my name.
I guess we'll have to wait and see.

[billiechic]

but it was kept separate. She did not add it to another account, she did not spend it on a joint asset. She can trace the money from the date it was put in the account, how it grew etc. Maybe it was in your name so that you could access it for investing.

If you want a straight answer you are best to ask a lawyer. You are looking for reasons to claim it as yours and they are weak. She probably intended for you to share it at some point, but the money was clearly hers, was invested and NOT Shared.

You still didn't say what the "chunk" you spent together was for. I am assuming it was a good amount of money and that you enjoyed the benefits. She choose to share that with you. The amount of money you spend trying to get every penny of what is yours is going to cost a LOT. Aren't you happy that she shared in the first place?