You may have to compensate your spouse for the work they provided for repairs and maintenance of the property or for the money they invested in your inherited property.
Baton Rouge, LA – A divorce is a parting of ways which can be very painful, but when a couple has many assets to divide this will cause additional headaches and the situation can turn pretty ugly. A lot of unpleasantness can be avoided by turning to an experienced divorce lawyer who knows the Louisiana family laws inside out.
What is community property?
Louisiana is one of a handful of states that use the so-called community property rule. According to this rule, most assets acquired by a couple during their time together is communal property, which means it belongs to both of them in equal parts and should be divided equally in the event of a divorce.
Under Louisiana law, community property includes the wages earned by either spouse, the income generated by their investments and any asset acquired with that money. The community property rule does not apply to those assets included in a prenup agreement.
What is separate property?
On the other hand, a property obtained by either spouse via inheritance is considered separate property, so it won’t won’t have to be divided equally during the divorce. This refers to an inheritance you brought into the marriage or an asset inherited during the time you were married.
However, you may have to split certain revenues generated by that inheritance. Your spouse cannot claim a part of your inheritance even if they took care of your property and invested time and money in it. Likewise, they have no claim to your inheritance even if you both shared and enjoyed that property while you were married and they came to consider it as their property just as much as it was yours.
What does ‘fruits’ of an inheritance mean?
While an inherited asset counts as separate property, the revenues it generates does not. Such revenues are defined as ‘fruits’ of an inheritance under Louisiana law. These revenues include interest earned on inherited money, dividends on stocks, rent or the income generated by an inherited share in a family business. According to the law in Louisiana, such revenues must be split equally at the time of your divorce. stern
Also, you may have to compensate your spouse for the work they provided for repairs and maintenance of the property or for the money they invested in your inherited property. Since their work increased the value of your inherited property, they have a right to be compensated. If you’re in such a situation, it’s best to get legal advice from a reliable divorce lawyer in Baton Rouge and let them guide you through the process.
As an example, if a couple spends time and money from their joint account to repair a property inherited by one of them, the non-inheriting spouse can claim half of the funds that were invested in that property. At the same time, if their joint work increased the value of the house, the non-inheriting spouse should get half of the increase in value that can be attributed to their joint effort.
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