O'Brien v. O'Brien
North Carolina Court of Appeals
508 S.E.2d 300 (1998)
Mabel O'Brien (defendant) deposited most of a $163,000 inheritance from her father, and later most of a second inheritance from her aunt, into a joint investment account with her husband Richard (plaintiff), though marital funds deposited into the account over the years were entirely offset by withdrawals for marital purposes, and the couple only occasionally jointly consulted the account's investment broker. Upon divorce, Richard sought equitable distribution of the account, but the trial court found it was entirely Mabel's separate property, and Richard appealed.
Whether an inherited investment account remains a spouse's separate property, exempt from equitable distribution, where marital funds were commingled into the same account but ultimately offset by withdrawals, and both spouses occasionally participated in investment decisions.