Fourth DCA Case: Man Accidentally Deposits 3 Million Dollars into Joint Account; Court Creates Irrevocable Trusts

What do you know about marital assets in West Palm Beach?  Did you know that by co-mingling funds in a joint account you can turn property that was once yours into marital property? Do you know why that matters? In divorce non-marital assets are not subject to  equitable distribution. So what happens when an elderly man accidentally deposits three million dollars into his joint account when he meant to put it in a separate account? That is just what the court had to decide in this landmark case out of the Fourth District Court of Appeals.

Co-Mingling

• Co-mingling is when two things interact and a court cannot properly tell whose property is what.
• For example a West Palm Beach trustee cannot co-mingle his assets with trust assets, that would be a breach of fiduciary duty.
• Co-mingling also applies in the family law context because the court only divides upmarital assets.
• A non-marital asset is one that belonged to you before the divorce.
• If you had a million dollars in a bank account that is your, but if you allow it to co-minglewith the joint accounts then you need to consider that money a marital asset.
• What if you did not co-mingle intentionally though?
• That is what the court had to deal with in the case of Zelman v. Zelman.

Zelman v. Zelman

• Mr. Zelman was elderly and quite wealthy; his wife according to his children had been isolating him from the rest of the family.
• This always raises questions of undue influence so be on the look out.
• In his old age, the man accidentally deposited three million dollars into his joint account he shared with his wife.
• The mans children immediately petitioned the court for guardianship and a reversal of that deposit.
• The West Palm Beach trial court created two revocable trusts for the money but the wife appealed.
• On appeal it was held that she had her due process rights violated when she was not allowed to speak on the matter.
• This was grounded on the fact that she had a property interest in the 3 million dollarsdo you agree?
• Should it be considered a marital asset?

Want to learn more before you make a decision?

Check out the entire case by clicking here.