How Domestic Violence Affects Child Custody in Louisiana

An estimated 1 in 15 children in the U.S. is exposed to intimate partner violence each year, and 90% of them witness it directly. Domestic violence puts children at physical risk and also causes them psychological harm. For this reason, the state of Louisiana has extensive laws allowing judges to consider domestic violence when deciding custody.

Here's an overview of how Louisiana law defines domestic violence and how it affects custody decisions. 

Child Custody in Louisiana

In child custody cases, Louisiana courts determine legal custody (which parent gets to make important decisions about the child's life) and physical custody (where the child lives).

The court will decide both legal and physical custody based on what is in the best interests of the child. A judge will consider all relevant factors, including:

• the child’s relationship with each parent
• each parent’s ability to provide the child with love, affection, spiritual guidance, and an education
• each parent’s ability to provide the child with food, clothing, medical care, and other needs
• the length of time the child has lived in their current environment
• the stability of parents’ homes
• each parent’s mental and physical health
• the child’s home, school, and community history
• the child’s wishes, if the child is old enough to have an opinion
• the distance between the parents' homes
• each parent’s willingness to encourage a relationship between the child and the other parent
• each parent’s history of caring for the child, and
• each parent’s moral fitness, including history of domestic violence.

(La. Civ. Code Art. 134 (2026).)

What Is Domestic Violence in Louisiana?

Louisiana law defines domestic violence broadly. It includes physical or sexual abuse, but also extends to most other criminal offenses against a person, such as stalking, false imprisonment, or assault, when committed by a family member, household member, or dating partner. These protections aren't limited to current relationships: Ex-spouses and former dating partners can also be victims of domestic violence under Louisiana law. 

(La. Rev. Stat. § 46:2132 (2026).) 

How to Get a Restraining Order in Louisiana

If you have recently experienced domestic violence or are in immediate fear of violence against you or your children, you should call local law enforcement or 911.

If you or your minor children have experienced domestic violence in the past and are afraid of future abuse, you can ask the court for protection in two stages: an immediate Temporary Restraining Order (TRO), followed by a longer-lasting protective order.

A TRO can be issued right away, often without the abuser present, when a judge finds immediate and present danger. A TRO may include the following:

• prohibiting the abuser from abusing, harassing, or interfering with the victim
• ordering the abuser to stay away from the victim's home
• awarding a victim parent use of a home, automobile, or other property
• granting a victim parent custody of any children, and
• awarding a victim parent possession of any pets.

To start the process, visit the district court clerk’s office for your parish and ask for the "Petition for Protection from Abuse." You’ll complete the forms and the clerk will take them to a judge for review. If the judge finds you're in danger, the TRO takes effect right away and lasts until a hearing, which the court must schedule within 21 days.

Both parties must attend the hearing. If the judge finds you're in danger after the hearing, the TRO is replaced by a protective order, which is a longer-term order that generally lasts up to 18 months and can be extended after a further hearing.

If the abuser violates either order, they can be incarcerated or fined.

(La. Rev. Stat. §§ 46:2135, 46:2136 (2026).) 

How Domestic Violence Impacts Child Custody Decisions in Louisiana

Louisiana judges begin custody decisions with the presumption that no parent with a history of committing domestic violence should receive custody of a child. At the beginning of every custody case, each parent must notify the court of either parent’s other court proceedings involving domestic violence, protective orders, or termination of parental rights. Courts define a history of committing family violence as more than one incident, or one incident that caused a serious injury.

Before a court will grant an abusive parent custody or visitation, that parent must:

• complete a domestic violence treatment program
• refrain from abusing alcohol or using illegal drugs, and
• prove that, considering the child's best interests, that parent's participation as custodian is required because of the other parent's absence, mental illness, substance abuse, or other circumstance harming the child. 

If both parents have a history of domestic violence, the court will award custody to the parent less likely to be abusive in the future.

In all child custody cases involving domestic violence, the court will issue a “Uniform Abuse Prevention Order” prohibiting a parent from committing further abuse. If a parent violates the abuse prevention order, they lose all visitation privileges.

If the court finds that a parent has sexually abused their children, the court typically won’t grant the abusive parent visitation at all. The court can allow a sexually abusive parent to have only supervised visitation, and only after the abusive parent proves that they've completed a sexual-abuser treatment program, and the judge finds that visitation would serve the child's best interests without risking physical, emotional, or psychological harm.

(La. Rev. Stat. §§ 9:364, 9:366, 13:1821 (2026).) 

Visitation Restrictions

A judge can also restrict visitation and require parents to follow certain conditions during visitation when a parent has committed domestic violence. The court may:

• order that visitation with the abusive parent be supervised
• order an abusive parent to undergo a medical or mental health evaluation, and
• order an abusive parent to complete treatment based on that evaluation. 

The court may award supervised visitation to a parent with a history of domestic violence, only after a parent completes a domestic violence treatment program.

(La. Rev. Stat. §§ 9:341, 46:2136 (2026).) 

Termination of Parental Rights

In extreme cases, Louisiana courts may terminate an abusive parent's rights. The judge may terminate parental rights when:

• a parent is convicted of murder or unjustified killing of the other parent
• a parent committed extreme abuse against a child, such as murder, rape, sodomy, torture, or starvation, or
• a parent has abused or neglected a child, causing that child a serious physical or psychological injury.

(La. Children's Code Art. 1015 (2026).) 

Getting Help

Domestic violence and child custody cases are fraught. If you're dealing with any of the issues covered in this article, it's worth talking to a family law attorney who can walk you through your options and help you build and present your case.

The Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence offers a free 24/7 hotline and resources for victims of abuse. And LouisianaLawHelp.org provides free legal information, including step-by-step instructions for obtaining emergency custody orders.