I need to know about the rights of couples when they are either breaking up, divorcing, trying to divide up property. And if one person wins money or receives an inheritance, do they have to share it 50-50 or does all of it go to the one who won/inherited it?
It depends on the jurisdiction (state), but even then it's too broad a question to answer fully.
Here in Massachusetts, an inheritance (or lottery win, etc.) during the marriage would, in fact, be considered as part of the marital assets -- even the prospect of a future inheritance is considered. That doesn't necessarily mean it would be divided 50/50, rather than going to the person who inherited it, but it could be. In fact, the spouse of the person who inherited might even get more than 50%, in the case of, say, a long marriage (over 15 years or so; I forget the exact number that's considered "long"), where the husband, who's earning a million bucks a year as a CEO, is the one who inherited, and the wife has no marketable job skills, because she's been at home during the marriage, without a paid job, so he's going to be able to continue being a CEO and earn a million bucks a year, but she's going to get only a minimum wage job, so the court could award her the larger chunk of their liquid assets, on the theory that the husband/CEO is going to be able to accumulate new liquid assets, and she would be struggling to meet her most basic expenses. (Or vice versa; if it's a long marriage and the husband is, say, in ill health and unable to work, but the wife is a brain surgeon, earning a hefty salary, and then the husband might get more of the assets.)
In Massachusetts -- and I believe there are other comparable states -- it's a matter of trying to even out the couple's future assets and income a bit, rather than a simple 50/50 split of assets, based upon where they came from or when they were acquired. It's all very dependent on the exact situation, although a 50/50 split of everything is usually the starting point. Well, unless it's a really short marriage or there are other complications.
JD, not giving individual legal advice, just general information.
