This is a complicated area and specialist advice should be sought. Much depends on the length of the marriage and the extent of the marital assets compared to those that have been inherited. The inherited assets are generally described as non matrimonial property and the inheriting party will generally be allowed to retain them if the reasonable needs of the other party can be met by sharing the matrimonial assets. The family home however will usually be regarded as a matrimonial asset to be shared regardless of whether it was inherited by one party, but again this depends on the length of the marriage and the wealth of the parties.