A Florida man sold his Georgia home and paid money from a joint account toward a new marital house; after a two-year marriage ended, an appeals court ruled he could not get separate credit for that down payment

• The court found the funds had become marital property after entering a joint account and financing their jointly owned home.
• A home bought with money earned before marriage may seem to be a clear case of separate ownership.
• However, the legal character of those funds can change when they pass through a joint bank account and are then used to purchase property in both spouses' names.