The law deliberately treats inheritances and gifts received during marriage as privileged, since they are not based on joint marital effort but on family contributions from third parties.
The value of the property at the time of inheritance is therefore notionally added to the initial assets, so that only the increase in value occurring since then is subject to equalization.
Here too, a retroactive appraisal report as of the time of inheritance is regularly required in order to correctly determine the privileged initial value.
If the inherited property was extensively renovated or converted during the marriage, the original privileged initial value must be clearly distinguished from the value-enhancing investments made during the marriage.
A detailed appraisal report ideally documents both the condition at the time of inheritance and the changes made since then, separately from one another.
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