Non-marital assets and co-mingling can be a big headache when equitably distributing assets in divorce. Co-mingling is the term used when marital money or efforts are used on non-marital assets that belong only to one spouse.Last week, the Fifth District Court of Appeal decided a case from Ocala that involved possible co-mingling. The wife had looked at 5 acres prior to the wedding, but the sale closed after the wedding.
During the divorce, the husband claimed that the land was marital because it was purchased during the marriage. The evidence showed that the down payment was made with money from the wife's mother. The payments were made with non-marital accounts of the wife and her mother and son. Later, the wife's mother sold her house and that money also went toward the 5 acres.
Even though the wife's pleadings failed to identify the land as non-marital, the judge found that the 5 acres were, in fact, non-marital. The lack of pleading did not matter to the court since the spouses argued the issue during the trial.
Take away two lessons from this case. First, if you have a non-marital asset be sure you do NOT use marital money to pay for it. Second, keep your pleadings accurate so you don't buy yourself an appeal in your Florida divorce case.