Divorce Process in Louisiana

It is a known fact that contemporary American society is facing a crisis situation, so far as the age-old institutions of marriage and family are concerned.

Throughout the landscape, states are experimenting with a variety of ideas and approaches to maintain the sanctity of marriage. Some support longer waiting periods for divorce while others swear by marital education. In 1997, Louisiana offered its residents a choice between a traditional marriage and a covenant marriage. A covenant marriage differs from a traditional marriage in the sense that it gives the couples a chance to make a stronger legal commitment than that allowed by standard no-fault divorce laws. Katherine Spaht, a key figure in Louisiana family law helped draw up the nation’s first covenant marriage bill. Out of a total of 39,544 marriages occurring in Louisiana in 1998, six hundred were covenant marriages. Critics are highly divided on the issue of covenant marriage. One segment believes that covenant marriages will motivate the couples to take their marriage more seriously. More conservative opponents hold that it will highly restrain the individual freedom and may lead to nasty court battles when one spouse wants a divorce and the other does not.

Louisiana has both “fault”- and “no-fault”-based grounds for divorce. Besides, it has separate grounds for covenant marriages. The grounds for divorce in Louisiana are as follows:

Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary and subsequent to the parties obtaining counseling, a spouse to a covenant marriage may obtain a judgment of divorce only upon proof of any of the following:

  1. The other spouse has committed adultery.
  2. The other spouse has committed a felony and has been sentenced to death or imprisonment at hard labor.
  3. The other spouse has abandoned the matrimonial domicile for a period of one year and constantly refuses to return.
  4. The other spouse has physically or sexually abused the spouse seeking the divorce or a child of one of the spouses.
  5. The spouses have been separate and apart continuously without reconciliation for a period of two years.
  6. a) The spouses have been living separate and apart continuously without reconciliation for a period of one year from the date of the judgment of separation from bed and board was signed.

b)If there is a minor child or children of the marriage, the spouses have been living separate and apart continuously without reconciliation for a period of one year and six months from the date the judgment of separation from bed and board was signed; however, if abuse of a child of the marriage or a child of one of the spouses is the basis for which the judgment of separation from bed and board was obtained, then a judgment of divorce may be obtained if the spouses have been living separate and apart continuously without reconciliation for a period of one year from the date the judgment of separation from bed and board was signed. 

Except in the case of a covenant marriage, a divorce shall be granted upon motion of a spouse when either spouse has filed a petition for divorce and upon proof that one hundred eighty days have elapsed from the service of the petition, or from the execution of written waiver of the service, and that the spouses have lived separate and apart continuously for at least one hundred eighty days prior to the filing of the rule to show cause.

Except in the case of a covenant marriage, a divorce shall be granted on the petition of a spouse upon proof that:

  1.      The spouses have been living separate and apart continuously for a period of six months or more on the date the petition is filed;
  2.      The other spouse has committed adultery;
  3.      The other spouse has committed a felony and has been sentenced to death or imprisonment at hard labour.

So far as the division of property is concerned, Louisiana is a “Community Property” state. All assets and debts acquired during the marriage are considered the community property with some exceptions such as the property acquired prior to the marriage, gifts and inheritance. In case of a disagreement, all the community property is divided equally by the state amongst the two parties. The court may grant support to a spouse after considering relevant factors such as the financial obligations, incomes and means of the parties, earning capacity, health and age, duration of marriage, tax consequences, etc.

The court awards child custody in accordance with the “best interests of the child”. While determining child custody, the court takes into consideration various emotional, financial and social factors. In exceptional cases, the custody may be awarded to a third person. In Louisiana the child support is calculated in accordance with the “Child Support Guidelines”, which could be modified under certain circumstances.

It is very difficult to come out with authentic data regarding Louisiana divorce rates. About 25% of the state’s 64 parishes don’t submit annual divorce reports and those who do withhold some information.    

Article: Divorce Process in Louisiana

Created on: 2007-08-01 09:50:42