Divorce Law: The Basics of Louisiana Community Property

Unfortunately, it seems that day after day and year after year the divorce rates in the United States go up.  When a family is torn apart, it is never good.  Oftentimes there are myriad considerations which the spouses need to make regarding child support and child custody, living arrangements, and other family issues.  After the most important considerations of the family are addressed, many spouses are confronted by another thorny problem: how to divvy up the marital property.  That is the subject of today’s article.
In the state of Louisiana, we have what is known as a “community property regime.”  This means that, generally, whatever the spouses make or produce during the marriage is part of the community property of marriage.  This property or wealth is distributed evenly between the spouses after the divorce.  If one of the spouses has something that is not part of the community property, than that thing is regarded as “separate property”; and that spouse gets to keep this property in its entirety after the divorce.
For example, inheritances given to only one spouse are generally considered separate property.  So if Lou and Lucy are married, and Lou’s mom dies, leaving in her will to Lou one hundred fifty two dollars and five cents, then if he and Lucy later divorce, Lou gets to keep all one hundred fifty two dollars and five cents.  The reason is that the inheritance never entered into the community property regime by virtue of the fact that it was an inheritance.
Let’s use a slightly more complex example.  Let’s say, before the marriage, Lou had bought a condo for himself.  Rather than selling it, he decided to rent it out to tenant for a little extra income.  In the course of renting it, a neighbor who lived next door to the condo was experimenting with dangerous chemicals, and accidently caused a horrific fire.  This fire spread to Lou’s condo, and burnt nearly the entire thing down.  As a result, the insurer of the neighbor was forced to pay damages to Lou for the negligence of the neighbor.  As part of the damages award, the insurance company had to give Lou the value of the damage to the condo.
In this case, Lou purchased the condo before he was married.  This probably means that the condo will be considered his separate property, and he will keep it in its entirety after the divorce.  If he bought the condo during the marriage, it may or may not be separate, depending on where the money to purchase the condo came from.  For example, if the condo was bought during the marriage with both his and Lucy’s community money, than it would probably be part of the community as well.  If it was bought during the marriage, but solely with Lou’s separate property (for example with the money he inherited from his mother) there’s a good chance it would also be considered separate.
As for the insurance payment, notice that Lou received that during the marriage to Lucy.  Nonetheless, there is a good chance that this insurance money will also be considered separate property, because it came as a result and entirely through his ownership of other separate property: the condo.
The above is purely informational and not legal advice.  Will Beaumont.  New Orleans.