The extent to which a future inheritance may be taken into account will depend on the wider context of each individual case. That said, in general, the Court are often reluctant to consider a future inheritance when deciding how a divorcing couple’s finances should be divided.

In financial proceedings, the Court’s aim is to meet the needs of both parties. Either spouse may attempt to argue that their husband’s or wife’s needs will be met once they have received an inheritance from, in most cases, one or both of their parents, and therefore that that spouse needs a lower proportion of the matrimonial assets.

However, the Court will approach future inheritance prospects with great caution given their uncertainty. The Court are, in most cases, unlikely to have any idea as to when an inheritance may be received. It could be 1 year after the financial proceedings or it could be 20; the Court are unlikely to have any way of knowing this.  There would also be nothing stopping the third party, for example one of the spouse’s parents, from redrafting their Will at a later stage to amend the share their child receives or to even exclude them altogether.

Our expert Family Lawyers have offices based in Wolverhampton and Cradley Heath and serve clients across the West Midlands and Black Country including Stourbridge, Wolverhampton, Penkridge, Halesowen, Birmingham and beyond.  If you complete our online enquiry form, a member of our team will contact you for an initial discussion. Alternatively, you can call 01902 328 365 and speak to Alex Mansfield, who is an Associate Solicitor based in our Wolverhampton office.