Louisiana Marital Property Laws

Louisiana is one of nine community property states. In these states, there is a presumption that all property acquired during a marriage belongs to both spouses. During a divorce or legal separation, spouses divide community assets 50/50.

Other states are equitable distribution states. In these states, courts divide marital assets fairly between couples, but not always equally. Judges in an equitable distribution state have greater leeway to consider the parties' financial circumstances when dividing property.

Community property laws are important when a marriage ends, whether by divorce or the death of one spouse. Unlike other community property states, the surviving spouse doesn’t inherit one-half the decedent's property in Louisiana. Instead, the spouse inherits one-half of the community property, and the children and other relatives inherit all separate property. The spouse receives a usufruct interest, like a life estate, in the community property.

Note: State laws are subject to change through the passage of new legislation, court rulings (including federal decisions), ballot initiatives, and other means. FindLaw strives to provide the most current information available. You should consult an attorney or conduct your own legal research to verify the state law(s) before making any legal decision.

Marital Property vs. Separate Property

Under Louisiana's community property laws, community property is everything acquired during marriage. Both assets and community debts are subject to equal division during a divorce. Community property includes the following:

• Property earned during the marriage by the efforts of either or both spouses, such as wages or other income
• The "fruits" of community property increased by the efforts of the spouses, such as retirement accounts, pensions, or 401(k)s
• Property purchased with community funds
• Property gifted to both spouses by a third party
• Settlements for a community injury
• Anything else that isn’t separate property

In general, anything acquired during the marriage is presumptively marital property, including debts and liabilities. Unlike some community property states, Louisiana has enumerated categories of separate property.

Separate property includes everything acquired before marriage but also includes:

• Property acquired with separate funds if the value is "inconsequential" in comparison with the separate funds
• Property inherited or gifted to the spouse personally
• Damages awarded to the spouse for mismanagement of their separate property
• Damages awarded to the spouse by the other spouse for mismanagement of the community property
• Things acquired by the spouse due to voluntary partition of the community property regime

Matrimonial Agreement

Louisiana is unusual in allowing spouses to opt out of the community property law through a matrimonial agreement. A matrimonial agreement is not the same as other states' prenuptial agreement. A matrimonial agreement changes the nature of control of property during the marriage. It terminates upon divorce or death of one of the parties.

A judge must approve all matrimonial agreements. Married people who move to Louisiana from equitable distribution states should consult an attorney to protect their property rights.

Louisiana Marital Property Law

Property division in Louisiana is straightforward. If the couple can’t agree during the divorce proceedings, the court divides the couple's community property 50/50, as described above. If either spouse wishes to claim community property as their separate property, the spouse making the claim must provide evidence showing no commingling of assets.

Community property rules don’t require a perfect 50/50 split of all property. As long as each spouse has an equal sum at the end of the divorce process, the judge does not need to order the family home sold so the couple can split the profits.

Get Legal Advice on Louisiana Divorce

Louisiana has extremely complex laws about marriage, contracts, and divorce. All couples should contact a Louisiana family law attorney to understand their property rights. Don't wait until you're getting a divorce. For more general information, you can also visit FindLaw's divorce and property section.