Louisiana Divorce Laws: Grounds, Property, and Support

Louisiana divorce laws require at least one spouse to be domiciled in the state and then either a waiting period of living apart or proof of specific fault before a court will dissolve the marriage. Because Louisiana’s legal system descends from French civil law rather than English common law, the rules on property, custody, and support look different from those in most other states.

Who Can File in Louisiana

At least one spouse must be domiciled in Louisiana when the petition is filed.1Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Art. 10 – Jurisdiction Over Status Six months of continuous residence in a parish creates a rebuttable presumption of domicile, which shifts the burden to the other spouse if they want to contest it.

You file in the parish where either spouse is domiciled or in the parish where the two of you last lived together.2Justia Law. Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Art. 3941 – Court Where Action Brought If you and your spouse now live in different parishes, either one works. Filing fees vary by parish, so check with the local clerk of court before you go.

Grounds for Divorce

Louisiana recognizes both no-fault and fault-based grounds. The route you pick changes your timeline and can affect spousal support.

No-Fault Grounds

A no-fault divorce requires only that you and your spouse live separate and apart continuously for a set period. Without minor children of the marriage, that period is 180 days. With minor children, it is 365 days.3Justia Law. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 103 – Judgment of Divorce, Other Grounds Reconciliation during the separation period resets the count, so a brief return to the shared home starts the clock over.

Fault Grounds

Fault grounds let you skip the separation period entirely. You can seek an immediate divorce if your spouse:

  • Committed adultery;
  • Was convicted of a felony and sentenced to death or imprisonment at hard labor;
  • Physically or sexually abused you or a child of either spouse during the marriage, whether or not criminal charges were filed; or
  • Was the subject of a protective order or injunction issued during the marriage to protect you or a child from abuse.3Justia Law. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 103 – Judgment of Divorce, Other Grounds

The spouse alleging fault has to prove it. Proving fault does more than speed things up. It can also disqualify the at-fault spouse from receiving final spousal support.

Article 102 vs. Article 103

Louisiana offers two procedural paths for a no-fault divorce, and choosing wrong costs you time and filing fees.

Article 102: File First, Wait During the Case

Under Article 102, you file the petition before the separation period has run. The 180- or 365-day clock starts on the date your spouse is served or signs a written waiver of service. Once the period passes and you have lived apart the whole time, you file a rule to show cause asking the court to grant the divorce.4Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 102 – Judgment of Divorce, Living Separate and Apart Prior to Rule This route means two filings instead of one.

Article 103: Wait First, Then File

Under Article 103, you and your spouse have already completed the required separation before anything is filed. One petition does the job, and if your spouse does not contest, a default judgment is often available.3Justia Law. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 103 – Judgment of Divorce, Other Grounds It is generally faster and cheaper.

Article 102 makes sense when you want a case opened right away, often to get temporary custody or support orders in place. Article 103 is usually the better choice when the separation is already well underway.

Covenant Marriage: A Separate Set of Rules

If you signed a covenant marriage declaration, the standard no-fault periods do not apply to you. Louisiana is one of only three states that offers this alternative form of marriage, which requires premarital counseling and a signed declaration of intent that treats the marriage as a lifelong commitment.5Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 9-272 – Covenant Marriage, Intent

To end a covenant marriage, you must have received counseling and must meet one of these grounds:

  • Adultery;
  • Felony conviction with a sentence of death or hard labor;
  • Physical or sexual abuse of the spouse or a child;
  • Abandonment for one year;
  • Living separate and apart for two years; or
  • Legal separation followed by one year and six months apart if there are minor children, or one year in other cases.6Louisiana Department of Health. Covenant Marriage

The two-year separation ground alone is more than double the standard 365-day period, so expect a longer process if you entered a covenant marriage.

Community Property

Louisiana is a community property state. Each spouse owns an undivided one-half interest in property acquired during the marriage, and that property is divided equally on divorce.7Justia Law. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 2336 – Ownership of Community Property Community property includes wages, real estate purchased during the marriage, and the natural fruits of community assets, like rental income or interest.

Separate property stays with its original owner. It includes:

  • Property you owned before the marriage;
  • Inheritances received individually during the marriage;
  • Gifts made to you alone; and
  • Damages awarded to you for the other spouse’s breach of contract or mismanagement of community property.8Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 2341 – Separate Property

The line blurs quickly in real life. Inheritance money spent renovating a jointly owned home, or a business started before the marriage that grew during it, often requires detailed records and sometimes a forensic accountant to sort out. Most couples negotiate a settlement rather than let a judge apply the equal-division rule.

Child Custody

If parents cannot agree, Louisiana courts award joint custody by default.9Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 132 – Award of Custody to Parents Joint custody does not necessarily mean a 50/50 time split, but both parents keep legal decision-making authority. Sole custody requires clear and convincing evidence that it serves the child’s best interest.

The primary consideration is any potential for the child to be abused. Beyond that, courts weigh:

  • The emotional bond between the child and each parent;
  • Each parent’s ability to provide food, clothing, medical care, and stability;
  • The moral fitness of each parent as it affects the child;
  • Any history of substance abuse, violence, or criminal activity;
  • The child’s preference, if the child is old enough to express one meaningfully;
  • Each parent’s willingness to foster a relationship between the child and the other parent; and
  • The distance between the parents’ homes.10Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 134 – Factors in Determining Child’s Best Interest

Separate rules apply where there is a history of domestic violence or family abuse, and these can restrict the offending parent’s custody and visitation rights. A single incident that caused serious bodily injury, or more than one incident of any severity, is enough for the court to find a history of family violence.

Child Support

Louisiana uses an income shares model. Both parents’ adjusted gross incomes are combined, the basic obligation is drawn from a statutory schedule based on that combined income and the number of children, and each parent’s share is set by their percentage of the total. Child care costs, health insurance premiums, and extraordinary medical or educational expenses are added on top.11Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana RS 9-315.20 – Child Support Obligation Worksheets

In shared custody arrangements where the child spends substantial time with each parent, the basic obligation is multiplied by 1.5 to reflect the cost of maintaining two homes, then offset by the time the child spends with each parent.

When It Ends

Support ends automatically when the child turns 18. If the child is a full-time student in good standing at a secondary school at that point, support continues until graduation or age 19, whichever comes first.12Justia Law. Louisiana RS 9-315.22 – Termination of Child Support Upon Majority Support can continue indefinitely for a child who became severely mentally or physically disabled before age 18 and cannot support themselves.

Watch for this trap: if the order sets a single amount covering multiple children rather than a per-child figure, that total does not drop when the oldest ages out. You have to go back to court and ask for a reduction, or the full amount keeps running.

Spousal Support

Louisiana has two kinds of spousal support, and they work differently.

Interim Support

Interim support maintains a reasonable standard of living while the divorce is pending. The court looks at the requesting spouse’s needs, the other spouse’s ability to pay, any child support obligation, and the lifestyle the couple had during the marriage. It ends automatically 180 days after the divorce judgment is final, though the court can extend it for good cause.13Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 113 – Interim Spousal Support

Final Periodic Support

Final support is harder to qualify for. The requesting spouse must show both need and that they were free from fault before the divorce proceeding was filed.14Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 111 – Spousal Support, Authority of Court Adultery or other marital misconduct proved by the other side ends eligibility for final support, even for a spouse who earns far less.

When final support is on the table, the court weighs:

  • Each spouse’s income, financial obligations, and earning capacity;
  • How child custody affects a parent’s ability to work;
  • The time the requesting spouse needs to obtain education or job training;
  • The health and age of both spouses;
  • The length of the marriage;
  • Tax consequences to either party; and
  • Any history of domestic abuse.15Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 112 – Determination of Final Periodic Support

Changing or Ending an Award

Either type of support can be modified if either spouse’s circumstances change materially, and it must be terminated if it becomes unnecessary. One point that surprises people: the paying spouse’s remarriage does not, on its own, count as a material change of circumstances, so the obligation continues.16Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Civil Code Art. 114 – Modification or Termination of Award of Support

How Long a Louisiana Divorce Takes

The timeline depends on which path you take and whether the case is contested.

An uncontested Article 103 divorce, where the required separation is already complete and the spouse agrees or does not respond, can wrap up within weeks of filing. A default judgment is possible without a hearing.

An Article 102 divorce is slower by design. You file, serve, wait out the full 180 or 365 days, then file the rule to show cause and get a hearing. Even with no disputes, that rarely takes less than seven to eight months without children, or roughly 13 to 14 months with minor children.

Contested divorces add time on top of that. The court may enter temporary orders early to address where the children live and who pays which bills, followed by mediation or negotiation, and a trial if those fail. Contested cases often stretch beyond a year, and an appeal can add months or years more.