Louisiana LA AI draft

Methodology

Community property — equal division

Louisiana is a community property state. Property acquired during the marriage through the effort, skill, or industry of either spouse is community property (La. Civ. Code art. 2338), and each spouse owns a present undivided one-half interest in it (art. 2336). On judicial partition the court follows La. R.S. 9:2801: the spouses file sworn detailed descriptive lists of community assets and liabilities (subject to traverse), and the court values the assets as of the trial on the merits, determines the liabilities, and divides the community so that each spouse receives property of an equal net value, using an equalizing money payment to correct any unequal net allocation.

Division Factors

The following factors are commonly evaluated under Louisiana law:

1. Each spouse owns a present undivided one-half interest in the community property (La. Civ. Code art. 2336)
2. Community property comprises property acquired during the legal regime through the effort, skill, or industry of either spouse; property acquired with community things (or with community and separate things unless classified separate under art. 2341); property donated to the spouses jointly; natural and civil fruits of community property; damages for loss or injury to community things; and all other property not classified by law as separate (La. Civ. Code art. 2338)
3. During the regime the spouses may voluntarily partition the community in whole or in part without court approval; things each spouse then acquires are separate property (La. Civ. Code art. 2336)
4. On judicial partition the court values assets as of the time of trial on the merits, determines the liabilities, and adjudicates the claims of the parties (La. R.S. 9:2801(A)(4)(a))
5. The court divides the community assets and liabilities so that each spouse receives property of an equal net value (La. R.S. 9:2801(A)(4)(b))
6. In allocating particular assets and liabilities — equally, unequally, or entirely to one spouse — the court considers the nature and source of the asset or liability, the economic condition of each spouse, and any other relevant circumstances (La. R.S. 9:2801(A)(4)(c))
7. An unequal net allocation is corrected by an equalizing sum of money, cash or deferred, secured or unsecured (La. R.S. 9:2801(A)(4)(d))

Statute / Authority

Citation: La. Civ. Code art. 2338 ↗

Source: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Laws_Toc.aspx

Source & verification AI draft

Citation

La. Civ. Code art. 2338

Source URL

https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Laws_Toc.aspx

Fetched

Not yet fetched

The SHA-256 is a tamper / identity hash on the body text we captured at fetch time — not a third-party signature. It lets us prove what we rendered matches what we observed.

Reference Library

Louisiana Community Property

Louisiana operates under a civil-law community property regime. Community property — assets acquired during the marriage through either spouse's effort, skill, or industry, property acquired with community things, jointly donated property, the fruits of community property, and all property not classified as separate — is defined by La. Civ. Code art. 2338, and each spouse owns a present undivided one-half interest (art. 2336). Separate property (pre-marital assets and gifts or inheritances) is not divided. On divorce the community is partitioned under La. R.S. 9:2801: after sworn descriptive lists and any traverses, the court values assets as of trial, fixes the liabilities, and divides the estate so each spouse receives property of equal net value, ordering an equalizing payment where the allocation is unequal.

Citation: La. Civ. Code art. 2338

Source: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Laws_Toc.aspx

Last updated: 2026-07-23T00:37:19.693247