Louisiana Community Property -- A Hypothetical Divorce Lawyers Might Encounter

In Louisiana, when a marriage is legally dissolved, divorce lawyers often divide property owned between the couple according to “community property” laws.  It is easiest to see these laws at work by using an example.
Let’s say we have a hypothetical married couple, Ted and Tammy.  Ted and Tammy have been married for twenty years.  After their kids went to college, Ted and Tammy begin to suffer something similar to what is called “empty nest syndrome.”  Their lives are much different now that the children are not around, and they are not adapting well.  They begin to bicker constantly.  Tammy believes that Ted is actually cheating on her, but she cannot prove it.  One night she gets so enraged that she goes downstairs into the garage and scratches the paint job to Ted’s prized car.  The next morning over coffee, they agree to separately meet with divorce lawyers.
As proceedings begin, it becomes clear that Ted and Tammy are not going to be able to agree on how to divide their property.  One of the main bones of contention between their divorce lawyers is the existence of three different homes that were purchased over the course of their marriage.  One is a summer home on the lake, another is a condo in the city, and the third is the family home in the country.
The three homes were purchased in three different ways.  The family home was bought right after Ted and Tammy were married.  The summer home was purchased after Tammy inherited a sizeable amount of money from her deceased uncle.  The uncle had left in his will money to Tammy, and Tammy turned around and bought the summer home directly with that money.  The condo was purchased in similar, but still slightly different circumstances.  When Ted’s mother died, she left money to Ted in her will as well.  However, Ted’s mother was always very fond of Tammy, and the will specifically said that the money she was leaving to Ted she was also leaving to Tammy, for them to share as a married couple.
It is practically impossible to say what would happen in a hypothetical scenario, but there may be a few generalizations divorce lawyers may draw according to family law and community property law in Louisiana.  For example, the family home that was purchased by Tammy and Ted after they were married is arguably community property.  This is because it was presumably purchased through the work and skill of the two of them, and the purchase occurred after the marriage was ratified.
The summer home, purchased with Tammy’s inheritance from her uncle, could arguably be said to Tammy’s separate property.  This is because inheritances to one spouse (and that spouse alone), even if received during the marriage, are typically separate property.  Any purchases made with that separate property to not change the status of the new property: it is still separate.  Finally, divorce lawyers might say that the condo in the city could be said to be community property.  This is because it was purchased with money that both Tammy and Ted inherited from Ted’s mother.  It is important to note that Ted’s mother specifically devised money to her son and daughter and law, not just to her son.  This probably means that the funds (and thus the condo which was purchased with those funds) are community property.
The above is purely informational and not legal advice.  Will Beaumont.  New Orleans.