People considering divorce in Louisiana frequently underestimate the complexity of the property division process. They have inaccurate beliefs about community property laws, which may lead to them approaching property division negotiations with unrealistic expectations.
The family courts in Louisiana generally treat assets acquired during marriage and income earned while married as marital property. Those resources are subject to community property rules. Spouses can work together to divide their property or can litigate if they struggle to reach an agreement and need a judge to resolve their disputes.
In either scenario, spouses may potentially have inherited resources or gifts received from outside parties that they do not want to treat as community property. The non-recipient spouse may insist they deserve a portion of those assets.
Can people exclude gifts and inherited property from the community property division process in Louisiana?
Some assets are separate property under the law
Louisiana family law statutes recognize that some assets are the separate property of one spouse or the other. Gifts from third parties and inheritances are among the resources often treated as separate property when couples divorce. However, there must be financial records to validate the separate nature of those assets. Spouses may need to divide them or account for their value if they commingled their separate property with the marital estate.
Commingling gifts and inherited property with marital property is a relatively common mistake during marriage. People deposit a financial gift into a joint checking account or add a spouse as a co-owner when they inherit real property or a vehicle. The use of marital income to preserve or improve gifts and inherited property can also lead to claims of commingling.
Those hoping to protect certain resources during a divorce may need help conducting a thorough analysis of house financial records and validating that the assets remain separate and are therefore exempt from community property division rules. Spouses who keep their inherited property and gifts separate from marital accounts and who retain clear financial records have the best chance of protecting their separate property when they divorce.
Validating the separate nature of certain assets can help people establish a foundation for rebuilding after a Louisiana divorce. The support of an attorney is often important in high-asset divorces involving complicating factors, such as valuable separate property that requires an in-depth financial analysis.