Title I. Courts · Chapter 2. Venue · Enacted 1997 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 82 sets venue for partitioning community property after a marriage ends, generally tying it to where the judgment terminating the community was rendered, with added options where the spouses own community immovable property or none at all.
Full Text of Art. 82
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A. Except as otherwise provided in this Article, an action to partition community property and to settle the claims between the parties arising from either a matrimonial regime or from co-ownership of former community property shall be brought either as an incident of the action which would result in the termination of the community property regime or as a separate action in the parish where the judgment terminating the community property regime was rendered.
B. If the spouses own community immovable property, the action to partition the community property, movable and immovable, and to settle the claims between the parties arising either from a matrimonial regime or from co-ownership of former community property may be brought in the parish in which any of the community immovable property is situated.
C. If the spouses do not own community immovable property, the action to partition the community property and to settle the claims between the parties arising either from a matrimonial regime or from co- ownership of former community property may be brought in the parish where either party is domiciled.
Amendment History
Acts 1997, No. 1055, §1.
Plain-English Summary
Louisiana is a community property state, meaning most property acquired during a marriage belongs jointly to both spouses as a matrimonial regime rather than to whichever spouse's name is on the title. When that community ends — through divorce, death, or another triggering event — Article 82 governs where the spouses' claims to divide it up get resolved.
The general rule in subsection A sends a partition action either into the same proceeding that terminated the community property regime, as an incident of that case, or into a separate action filed in the parish where the judgment terminating the regime was rendered. Subsection B expands the options where the spouses own community immovable property: the partition action, covering both movable and immovable community property along with related claims from the matrimonial regime or co-ownership of former community property, may instead be brought in the parish where any of that immovable property is located.
Subsection C covers the opposite situation. If the spouses do not own any community immovable property, the partition action and related claims may be brought in the parish where either spouse is domiciled, giving the parties a venue option that does not depend on the location of real estate that does not exist.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do you file to divide community property after a Louisiana divorce?
Ordinarily as part of the same case that ended the marriage, or as a separate action in the parish where the judgment terminating the community property regime was rendered.
Does it matter if the spouses own real estate together?
Yes. If the spouses own community immovable property, Article 82(B) allows the partition action to be brought instead in the parish where any of that property is located.
What if the spouses have no community real estate to divide?
Article 82(C) allows the action to be brought in the parish where either spouse is domiciled.
Source & verification. Article text is reproduced verbatim from
the vLex (Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure, 2026 Edition). Enacted by the Louisiana Legislature.
Last verified July 30, 2026.
· Official source
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