Michael J. Downing and Sandra M. Downing - Page 39

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          commingled” such that they cannot be traced to their separate               
          source that they are deemed community.  Curtis v. Curtis, 403 So.           
          2d 56, 59 (La. 1981).  Such treatment is consistent with the                
          presumption of community property in Louisiana.  See La. Civ.               
          Code Ann. art. 2340 (West 1985).                                            
               Applying those holdings to the instant case, respondent                
          argues that it is impossible to trace the funds petitioners used            
          from their joint accounts back to the separate funds of either              
          spouse because petitioners did not “make any effort to track                
          payments on allegedly separate assets, * * * in order to                    
          establish what was paid for with separate funds.”  It is unclear            
          from the record, however, whether petitioners were asked or even            
          attempted to track the payments.  Moreover, we do not think such            
          tracking is required.  Unlike in the cases cited above, the legal           
          presumption that the spouses are living in community does not               
          apply in the instant case because, as we concluded, supra,                  
          petitioners’ marriage contract was properly recorded during the             
          years in issue.  See 16 Spaht & Hargrave sec. 4.7.  Further, we             
          are not deciding the character of the funds petitioners deposited           
          into their joint accounts, but rather, we are deciding whether              
          petitioners’ asserted indiscriminate commingling of separate                
          funds with other separate funds invalidates petitioners’ marriage           
          contract.  We do not think it does.                                         
               Thirdly, the documents relating to the Newman property and             
          the Metairie Court property list only Michael as the owner of               





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