Lanza v. Lanza - 04-1314 ( La. 03/02/2005), 898 So. 2d 280

Rule:

Pursuant to La. Civ. Code Ann. art. 2338, community property comprises property acquired during the existence of the legal regime through the effort, skill, or industry of either spouse, and this includes the right to the payment of any compensation for work done during the community.

Facts:

A Petition for Divorce was filed and a Consent Judgment of Divorce was entered into based on the parties having lived apart for the requisite time period. The husband has remained a State Farm agent after the divorce. The parties were unable to reach an agreement as to the partition of community property, particularly as to whether the Agency managed by the husband or any benefits derived therefrom were community property subject to partition. The trial court found that the agency was a non-entity, and therefore, was not a thing which was subject to partition. The Louisiana Court of Appeal affirmed that portion of the judgment. Petitioner wife's writ application was granted. Respondent husband's writ application was also granted.

Issue:

1. Was the insurance agency a community property subject to partition? 
2. Was the wife entitled to any portion of renewal commissions or service compensation received by the husband after termination of the community on insurance policies written during the community? 

Answer:

1) No. 2) Yes.

Conclusion:

The supreme court determined that the insurance agency was not community property subject to partition, but that the wife was entitled to the portion of renewal commissions received after termination of the community to the extent that these commissions were the result of effort, skill, or industry of the husband during the community. In finding that the agency was not community property, the supreme court took into consideration several factors, including the agreement between the insurer and the husband that led to the conclusion that the husband had no ownership in the agency. Nevertheless, to the extent that the husband had received compensation after the community regime for work performed during the community, this compensation was community property.