Divorce Lawyers: Dos and Don’ts in Louisiana Family Law (Part IV)

Welcome again to an article series: “Divorce Lawyers Dos and Don’ts.”  These articles serve as helpful reminders about the general status of family laws in the state of Louisiana, and should be used for educational purposes only.
DIVORCE LAWYERS DON’T: forget that, generally, separate property stays separate property, and community property stays community property!  What we mean by that is, if one spouse has a piece of separate property (let’s say a car) which they purchased before the marriage, then they own the car outright.  Now let’s say that this spouse sells the car, and uses the money which they made from that transaction to buy another car.  This is a purchase which was made during the course of the marriage, so it must be community property, right?  Wrong!  Community property is classified generally by when the property is acquired (after the marriage is completed) and with what type of funds are used (typically money which was earned during the course of the marriage.)  In our case, the spouse used money which he received from liquidating a piece of property that was his separate property.  The fact that it happened during the marriage doesn’t matter.  It doesn’t convert the nature of the property. (Commingling assets, however, might make this be entirely different.)
DIVORCE LAWYERS DO: remember that personal injury settlements can be part community and part separate property.  If a spouse is injured in say, a car accident, they may be able to subsequently recover in a personal injury lawsuit.  If the car was community property (let’s say it was purchased by the spouses with community funds during the course of the marriage) then the portion of the settlement which is compensation for the car may be considered community property.
DIVORCE LAWYERS DON’T: forget that the community property regime in Louisiana is almost totally subject to contract negotiations.  What we mean by that is spouses can contract to change most of the elements of the community property arrangement between them.  They may stipulate that certain pieces of property or income are separate property, or that things which were once or will be community property are to revert to separate property, or vice versa.  For the most part, the rights between the parties to a marriage will automatically be governed by the laws and concepts of Louisiana’s community property regime.
As I previously noted, these are only hypothetical examples, and one should not extrapolate an outcome in their own personal situation based on these fictional scenarios.  Instead, contact one of the local divorce lawyers to learn more.
This above is informational only, not legal advice. Will Beaumont. New Orleans.