If a couple who marry from 1974 onwards divorce their financial situation is governed by the principles of the 1973 Spouses’ Property Relations Act , unless they have made an agreement otherwise. Basically , property acquired during the course of the marriage is joint, to be balanced between both spouses, unless agreed otherwise or the property falls into one of the exceptions. Property received through inheritance is one of the exceptions. Hence, the part of the stamp collection inherited would be entirely the husband’s upon divorce but the wife would, in principle, be entitled to a half- share in the rest (or its equivalent value) and a half- share in the profits from stamp dealing. It does not matter that stamp collecting is the husband’s own, private hobby and his wife took not interest in it. Clearly there is a problem regarding proof of which stamps were inherited, received by way of gift or purchased, due to the dynamic nature of the hobby, unless the collection was carefully catalogued and all sales were carefully recorded.