Opinion ID: 1856655
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: in kind value

Text: The rescission of a partition for lesion naturally contemplates that assets of one kind or another will be divided between the parties and that those assets would naturally have value. In an ordinary case, the value of these assets is determined, and the issue of whether the claimant spouse received a ¾ share is mathematically decided. The case sub judice is noteworthy, since the agreement between the spouses that one will not oppose the other's exclusive use of the coowned property for a limited time is unique and has not been addressed in the jurisprudence. In reality, this agreement may best be described as an agreement to delay the partition of the family home until a later date. [8] Accordingly, we must determine the propriety of adding the value of this agreement to the other consideration received in the settlement. The courts of this state have recognized that the decision of one spouse to explicitly waive his or her rights in a community property settlement may be considered as value to the other in determining whether a partition is lesionary. In its lesion analysis in King v. King, 493 So.2d 679 (La.App. 2 Cir.), writ denied, 497 So.2d 316 (La.1986), the court of appeal considered the effect of a portion of the community property agreement between the parties whereby Mrs. King agreed to partially waive alimony. The court stated: A very substantial benefit which the plaintiff received in this settlement was the reduced and eliminated alimony rights surrendered by the defendant. She agreed that she would never seek an increase in her alimony above the amount provided for in the agreement and further agreed the alimony would forever terminate upon plaintiff's retirement. After plaintiff's retirement she would have no further claim to alimony. She would then be relegated to her portion of the retirement benefits which she received under the community property law at the time of the dissolution of the community. The rights to alimony surrendered by the defendant in this partition agreement are valuable benefits received by the plaintiff. In order to determine if the agreement was lesionary the value of the alimony rights contractually terminated must be first determined and this value added to the property received by the plaintiff in the partition so it can then be determined if the plaintiff in fact received less than ¾ of ½ of the property included within the partition. The waiver of the alimony by the plaintiff has an equalizing effect upon the amount of value she received in property from the partition agreement. King, 493 So.2d at 686. (Emphasis added). See also Steadman v. Steadman, 423 So.2d 710 (La.App. 3 Cir.1982), writ den'd, 429 So.2d 158 (La.1983). We agree with the holding in King that a waiver of a right that benefits one spouse to the detriment of the other may be considered as value to the beneficiary for purposes of lesion. It is as if an equalizing sum of money had been exchanged between the parties to the partition, or as if one party had agreed to assume a community obligation. Therefore, it is from this perspective that we will analyze the value of the use of the family home as consideration received by Mrs. McCarroll for purposes of determining whether the March 3, 1990, agreement was lesionary.