File for Divorce in Louisiana

Condition for Residency

It is essential for the filer spouse to be the resident of Louisiana for twelve months before presenting the case in courts. Further, this case must be in writing, bearing the signatures of filer, and submitted into the parish of either of two spouses.

Reasons for the Divorces

Louisiana deals with no-fault reasons and general reasons in divorce cases. Among no-fault reason, it is not necessary for the couple to live separate for any specific time before filing the case. Neither do they require having any domestic violence. All that they need to have is the separation for 180 days after the divorce case has been filed in the court.
As far as general reasons are concerned, following are the major causes for the divorces.

Principle of Child Custody

For the best nurture of the child, courts have the rights to give a joint custody or single parent custody. Only preference given by the court to custody is as follows:

To take the decision, court considers following points:

If a parent is not granted with the custody of the child based on the above mentioned factors, then he or she is allowed to visit the child. However, if the reason of divorce is based upon child abuse, then this right is also taken from such parent.

Rules for Property Distribution

Louisiana is the "community property" based state in which separate property is held with its real owners without bringing it into the process of division. Remaining all other property is divided between the two irrespective of the reason of divorce case. Spouse, who gets the custody of the child, can claim for the family residence. Courts consider following aspects before allotting the family residence:

Rules for Spousal Support

One of the deserving spouses may get the alimony granted by the court that has to be paid by the other spouse. This amount does not exceed the one third of income of the payer. Followings are important points in this regard.

Child Support Guidelines

This state provides the guardian of the child with some amount to cater the needs of child. Amount of this support is estimated after considering following points.

Mediation In Case Of Divorce

Courts have the rights to suggest the parents for mediation.

Filing Pro Se Divorce

There is no need of a lawyer when applying for divorce in the state of Louisiana. A divorce case which is filed without any help of an attorney in any of the states is known as Pro Se Divorce.

Literally, Pro Se is a Latin phrase and it means "on her or his own". Process of getting the divorce without the help of lawyer may vary from one State to another. These types of divorces are perfectly legal and enforceable in Louisiana, and are actually very convenient. Usually, once settlements have been made regarding property distribution and custody matters among the spouses in case of a mutual divorce, Pro Se Divorces are filed.

Click Here to Begin