While Louisiana community property generally has two classifications, there are a lot of nuances within these. This article explains this further.
In Louisiana, married spouses can generally have two different types of property: community property and separate property. Community property typically consists of things which the spouses earn during the course of the marriage; for example a family home they might have purchased, money they earn from their jobs, or cars that they buy using the money they have made from work. The other type of property which a spouse can have in Louisiana is known as separate property. This is property which is acquired in such a way that Louisiana law considers it separate. The difference between separate and community property is significant for a divorce attorney. The reason being is that community property is often divided evenly between the spouses, whereas separate property remains the sole property of the spouse who owns it. This article will deal with various examples of separate property, as outlined under Louisiana Civil Code article 2341.
One of the most basic ways for property to be the separate property of one spouse is when that spouse acquires the property before getting married. Take for example a man who purchases a condo in New Orleans. Five years after he purchases the condo, he meets his soon to be wife. They court for a year and then get married. A divorce attorney will likely classify that condo as the husband's separate property.
Another way for property to be considered separate is in the case of an inheritance or a donation to one of the spouses. This transfer of property can even take place after the marriage has been formed, and the property will still be considered separate. It is important that the inheritance or donation is specifically to one spouse, and not to both of them. If the inheritance or donation is to both spouses, than a divorce attorney may consider it community property.
Keep in mind that if one spouse has separate property, and then somehow uses that separate property to purchase or acquire a different type or another property, than the newly acquired property will not change into community property (unless it becomes hopeless commingled), but will remain that spouse's separate property. The same holds true in the case where community property is used together with separate property to acquire another piece of property, if at the time of the transaction the amount of community property used was truly negligible compared to the amount of separate property used. For example, if a wife uses an inheritance she just received (which is her separate property) to purchase a car, but at the time of purchase her husband takes money from their joint bank account and pays for one percent of the total price (while the inheritance pays for the other 99%) than a divorce attorney is likely going to be consider the car the wife's separate property.
This article is written to be general information only; it should not be taken as formal legal advice. Will Beaumont. New Orleans.
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