Louisiana Custody

The judge will award custody based on what they believe is in your child’s best interests.¹ To make this decision, the judge will consider all relevant factors, including but not limited to:

• the risk of your child being abused, which is the most important consideration for the judge;
• the love, affection, and other emotional ties between each parent and your child;
• each parent’s ability to support your child’s emotional, educational, and material needs;
• how long your child has lived in a stable home, and the importance of keeping them there;
• how stable the current or proposed custodial homes are;
• each parent’s “moral fitness” and how it affects your child’s well-being;
• any history either you or the other parent have with substance abuse, violence, or criminal activity;
• each parent’s mental and physical health; 
• your child’s home, school, and community history;
• your child’s reasonable opinion on where they should live, if the judge thinks they are old enough;
• the distance between your home and the other parent’s home;
• each parent’s past role and duties in caring for and raising your child; and
• how willing each parent is to support a strong and ongoing relationship between your child and the other parent, unless:
  • there is substantial evidence of specific abusive, reckless, or illegal behavior; and
  • the behavior causes you to have reasonable concerns for your child’s safety or well-being while in the care of the other parent.²

If you and the other parent agree on who should have custody, the court will honor your agreement unless:

• you or the other parent has committed family violence or domestic abuse; or
• a different custody arrangement is in your child’s best interests.³

If you and the other parent do not agree or if your agreement is not in your child’s best interests, the court will award joint custody unless:

• you or the other parent has committed family violence or domestic abuse; or
• there is strong evidence that granting custody to only one of you is better for your child.²

Note: If there is proof that the other parent has abused you, the fact that you suffer from the effects of the abuse cannot be grounds for denying you custody.⁴

¹ La. Civ. Code Art. 131
² La. Civ. Code Art. 134(A)
³ La. Civ. Code Art. 132
⁴ La. Civ. Code Art. 134(A)(9)

If you’re worried about leaving your child alone with the abuser, you might think about asking a judge to order supervised visits. Supervised visits could be as simple as having someone else there during the visits to “keep an eye” on things, or it could be as strict as having a professional appointed to observe and report back on the interaction between your child and the other parent. If you are already in court because the abuser filed for visitation or custody, it might be worth asking for supervised visits if you have a good reason. It depends on your situation.

However, if there is no court case going on now, it’s a good idea to talk to a lawyer before you start a case to ask for supervised visits. Based on what is happening in your case, a custody lawyer in your area can explain:

• what you need to prove to get supervised visits; and
• how long they might last.

Usually, supervised visits are only ordered for a short time, but this may depend on where you live and who your judge is. The judge might order a professional to watch the visits, or a relative or other person known to either parent might volunteer to be the supervisor. If the supervisor doesn’t report any big problems back to the judge, the visits might become unsupervised. At the end of a case, the other parent might get more frequent and longer visits than they had before you went to court. They might even get some form of custody.

If your child is in immediate danger from the abuser, you may need to start a case to ask for custody and supervised visits to protect your child. To find out what is best for your situation, you can look for legal advice using our Louisiana Finding a Lawyer page.