Louisiana Child Custody Laws Explained

When you and your partner decide to divorce, dividing the responsibility for child care can be daunting.

Louisiana family courts are vested with jurisdiction over issues in child custody, support, and visitation rights. When parents decide to divorce or separate, a judge will ultimately award custody in accordance with the best interests of the child. Divorcing parents are free to come up with an agreement for the Court to render as a Judgment. However, the courts will intervene when the parents cannot agree upon an arrangement that is good for the child. In the event that the parents cannot come to a mutual decision, a judge will try to award joint custody to both parents unless there is concrete evidence that doing so is not what’s best for the child.

Then again, even if parents were granted joint custody, it doesn’t automatically mean that they will receive equal time with the child, nor do they share the same ability to make crucial decisions for the child. For example, a judge may decide that a child should primarily reside in the home of one parent because of school. In a case like this, the parent with whom the child primarily resides will likely be designated the domiciliary parent. The domiciliary parent is generally the parent that has the final say, when disagreements arise between the parties, absent the right of the non-domiciliary parent to ask the Court to intervene.