‘I believe she made a big mistake’: My wife put her paycheck into a bank account with her inheritance. Do I now own 50% of those funds?

Dear Quentin,

I understand that, in a divorce, a spouse is not entitled to money that their spouse inherited if those funds were not commingled in a joint account. I’m in a situation where my wife inherited money after we were married. But I believe she made a big mistake: She put it into her own account.

For about 20 years — unbeknownst to me — she had money from her paycheck deposited into the same account that held her inheritance. Now she’s on Social Security, and the entire amount is also deposited into that same account each month.

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I’m still working, and we’ve always filed joint tax returns. No tax is being withheld from her Social Security income, so my tax refund each year is about 60% less than it would be if our joint tax return did not include the Social Security income.

If we were to divorce, would I be entitled to half of her separate account, given that she has commingled joint income for 20 years with the inherited amount? Am I entitled to half of her Social Security income, just as she would be entitled to half of mine once I begin taking it?

Husband in Texas

Related: ‘He forced me to take Social Security at 62’: My husband inherited millions, but never gave me a penny. If I divorce him, would I get any of it?

Dear Husband,

I have some good news — for your wife.

Your wife should manage her inheritance appropriately, especially given that your marriage has seemingly seen happier days and you are considering a divorce. She appears to have done just that, as you have been following the paper trails of money going in and out of accounts. I can’t blame you for that, but you’re not sitting on a golden goose.

Money transferred from a joint marital bank account into a separate bank account containing your wife’s inheritance does not commingle your inheritance. Texas is one of nine community-property states, along with Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Washington and Wisconsin.

Cash transferred from a bank account with separate marital property into a joint bank account is considered commingled. Separate marital property might include an inheritance, funds from certain personal-injury claims, money earned prior to the marriage or assets clearly purchased with money from those aforementioned sources.