Practice Area · Family Law
Divorce in Louisiana
Louisiana divorce law runs on fixed statutory waiting periods and a specific list of grounds — not "irreconcilable differences." Here’s how the process actually works under the Civil Code, and what it means for your children, your support, and your property.
Grounds & Process
How Divorce Works Under Louisiana Law
Except in a covenant marriage, Louisiana law provides two paths to a divorce judgment: separation-based divorce under Article 102, and fault or abuse-based divorce under Article 103.
Living Separate and Apart — La. C.C. art. 102
Either spouse can file a petition for divorce, then move forward once the spouses have lived separate and apart continuously for the requisite period (set by Article 103.1) measured from service of the petition, or from a written waiver of service. Once that period has elapsed, the motion is brought as a rule to show cause.
Other Grounds — La. C.C. art. 103
A divorce may also be granted on a spouse’s petition upon proof of any of the following:
- The spouses have lived separate and apart continuously for the requisite period (Article 103.1) as of the date the petition is filed.
- The other spouse has committed adultery.
- The other spouse has committed a felony and been sentenced to death or hard labor.
- During the marriage, the other spouse physically or sexually abused the petitioning spouse or a child of one of the spouses — regardless of whether that abuse was prosecuted.
- A protective order or injunction was issued during the marriage, after a contradictory hearing or consent decree, to protect the petitioning spouse or a child from abuse by the other spouse.
The waiting period referenced in Articles 102 and 103 is 180 days where there are no minor children of the marriage, and 365 days when there are minor children of the marriage at the time the rule to show cause (Article 102) or the petition (Article 103) is filed. The clock runs from service of the petition or from a written waiver of service.
Days of separation required when the marriage has no minor children — La. C.C. art. 103.1(1)
Days of separation required when there are minor children of the marriage — La. C.C. art. 103.1(2)
Beyond the Judgment
The Ancillary Issues of Divorce
A divorce judgment rarely stands alone. Most cases also resolve who the children live with, who pays for what, and how the marital estate gets divided.
Child Custody
Louisiana courts decide custody based on the child’s best interest, weighing all relevant factors under La. C.C. art. 134, including:
- The potential for the child to be abused — the primary consideration
- The emotional ties, and each parent’s capacity to provide love, guidance, and material support
- The stability of the child’s current environment and each proposed home
- Each party’s moral fitness, health, and any history of substance abuse, violence, or criminal activity
- The child’s reasonable preference, home/school/community history, and the distance between the parents’ residences
- Each parent’s willingness to foster the child’s relationship with the other parent, and who has previously handled day-to-day care
Where a history of family violence or domestic abuse is found, Article 134(B) directs the court to apply La. R.S. 9:341 and 9:364 instead of the general factors above.
When joint custody is awarded, La. R.S. 9:335 generally requires a joint custody implementation order allocating physical custody so the child has frequent and continuing contact with both parents — and, unless the court finds it infeasible or against the child’s best interest, physical custody is shared equally. The court will typically also name a domiciliary parent, and the order must address how the parents will communicate about the child if either has to evacuate the state during a declared emergency or disaster.
Child Support
Louisiana calculates child support using the Income Shares Model set out in La. R.S. 9:315, which treats support as a continuing obligation of both parents and bases the award on their combined income. Each parent files a sworn, documented statement of income under La. R.S. 9:315.2, the court combines the parents’ adjusted gross incomes, and a basic support obligation is set from the statutory schedule based on that combined income and the number of children involved.
The basic obligation is then adjusted to add each parent’s share of:
- Net child care costs incurred for work, job search, or training ( La. R.S. 9:315.3)
- The child’s health insurance premiums ( La. R.S. 9:315.4)
- Extraordinary medical expenses over $250 per child per year ( La. R.S. 9:315.5)
- Other extraordinary expenses, such as private school tuition or special activities ( La. R.S. 9:315.6)
There is a rebuttable presumption that the guideline amount is correct, but a court may deviate from it — with written reasons — where applying it would not be in the child’s best interest or would be inequitable, such as support already owed to other dependents or an extraordinary community debt ( La. R.S. 9:315.1). Where custody is shared or split, the final worksheet calculation and any credit for the time the child spends with each parent is governed by La. R.S. 9:315.8 through 9:315.10, and a parent found to be voluntarily unemployed or underemployed may have income imputed to them under La. R.S. 9:315.11.
Interim Spousal Support
La. C.C. art. 113 lets a spouse ask the court for support while the divorce is pending, based on that spouse’s needs, the other spouse’s ability to pay, any child support obligation already in place, and the couple’s standard of living during the marriage.
An interim award automatically ends 180 days after the divorce judgment is rendered, unless extended for good cause shown. Final periodic support cannot begin until the interim award has terminated.
Permanent (Final) Periodic Support
Under La. C.C. art. 112, a spouse who was not at fault before the divorce petition was filed, and who needs support, may be awarded final periodic support. The court weighs all relevant factors, including:
- The income, means, and earning capacity of each party
- Each party’s financial obligations, including any child support
- How custody of the children affects a party’s earning capacity
- The time needed to gain education, training, or employment
- The health and age of the parties, and the duration of the marriage
- Tax consequences, and any domestic abuse committed by the other spouse
A spouse who obtains the divorce under Article 103(2)–(5) — adultery, felony, abuse, or a protective order — or who was a victim of domestic abuse, is presumed entitled to final support. Final support is generally capped at one-third of the paying spouse’s net income, except that the cap does not apply, and a lump sum is available, in abuse-related cases under Article 103(4)–(5) or where domestic abuse is found.
Partition of Community Property
Louisiana is a community property state, so most assets and debts acquired during the marriage — the home, retirement accounts, vehicles, and business interests — must be divided once the marriage ends. If the spouses can’t agree, either one may bring a partition proceeding under La. R.S. 9:2801: each spouse files a sworn, detailed descriptive list of the community’s assets, debts, and their fair market values, the other side may traverse (dispute) any item on it, and the court then decides what is community versus separate property, values the assets, and divides the estate so each spouse receives property of equal net value.
In dividing the estate, the court can allocate specific assets and debts to each spouse, order an equalizing payment where the split isn’t even, and — only when an asset truly can’t be allocated or sold privately — order it sold at public auction (licitation) as a last resort.
Because a partition can take time to finish, La. R.S. 9:374 lets either spouse ask the court, while the case is pending, for exclusive use of the family home and the use of community vehicles, bank accounts, and other community property until the estate is finally divided — weighing each spouse’s finances, the needs of any children, and any history of domestic abuse or financial control in deciding who gets interim use of what.
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Scott Hawkins has guided Acadiana families through divorce, custody, and support cases for over two decades. Let’s talk about what comes next for you.