Looking for Louisiana’s rules on marriage, divorce, child custody, and child support? Want to find Louisiana’s state court forms and instructions and local court websites? Here’s where to start. For a wide range of other articles on family law in Louisiana, see the Resources by State section on this site.
Marriage Rules in Louisiana
Requirements: No blood test required. You must be of the age of consent, not be too closely related to your intended spouse, not be married to anyone else, and have sufficient mental capacity, meaning you understand what you are doing when you marry. You can marry three days after your marriage license is issued, and your license is good for 30 days. For more details, check your county clerk’s office.
Common law marriage: No.
Community property: Yes.
Same-sex marriage: No.
Louisiana Divorce Rules
Grounds for divorce: Fault or no-fault grounds are allowed, or you can base your divorce on the fact that you’ve been separated from your spouse for one year (180 days if no minor children are involved).
Residency requirement: At least one spouse must be a resident of Louisiana for six months before filing for divorce.
How property is divided: Community property.
Child Custody Rules in Louisiana
Child custody guidelines: Louisiana courts begin with a presumption that it’s best for a child to have frequent and continuing contact with both parents after a divorce. If possible, judges want to support joint custody arrangements.
Louisiana Child Support Rules
Child support guidelines: Louisiana requires all parents to support their children. The amount of child support depends primarily on each parent’s income and other resources and how much time each parent spends with the children.
Child support calculators to determine state guidelines: www.alllaw.com/calculators/childsupport/louisiana.
State child support enforcement agency: Child Support Enforcement, www.dss.louisiana.gov.
Louisiana Courts and Other Family Law Resources
Louisiana court information and family law forms: www.louisiana.gov/Government/Judicial_Branch.
Family services section of Louisiana website: www.dcfs.louisiana.gov.
