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.

Family violence is committed by the other parent against you or any of the children in the family. Louisiana law defines family violence to include, but not be limited to, the following acts:

• physical abuse;
• sexual abuse; and
• any offense listed in the Criminal Code of Louisiana, except negligent injuring and defamation.¹

Family violence does not include reasonable acts of self-defense if you are trying to protect yourself or your child from the other parent.¹

A “history of family violence” can be:

• multiple incidents of family violence; or 
• a single incident of family violence that caused serious physical injury.²

¹ La. Rev. Stat. § 9:362(4)
² La. Rev. Stat. § 9:364(A)

In Louisiana, sexual abuse for the purpose of a custody case is defined as committing any of the following crimes:

• rape;
• first degree rape;
• second degree rape;
• third degree rape;
• sexual battery;
• second degree sexual battery;
• oral sexual battery;
• female genital mutilation;
• human trafficking;
• trafficking of children for sexual purposes;
• felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile (statutory rape);
• indecent behavior with juveniles;
• child sexual abuse materials;
• molestation of a juvenile or a person with a physical or mental disability;
• enticing persons into prostitution;
• crime against nature; or
• aggravated crime against nature.¹ 

¹ La. Rev. Stat. §§ 9:341(B); 14:403(A)(4)(b)

An abusive parent might only be able to get supervised visitation. The judge can order supervised visitation if they believe that the abusive parent:

1. has a history of family violence against any household member;
2. subjected any of their children or step-children to family violence or domestic abuse; or
3. had the ability to prevent another person from committing family violence or domestic abuse against their children or step-children, but they voluntarily allowed (willingly permitted) it to happen.¹

If the abusive parent wants the visits to be unsupervised, they must prove that:

• since the most recent incident of domestic or family abuse, they have successfully completed a court-monitored domestic abuse intervention program;
• visitation would be in the best interest of the child; and
• visitation would not cause physical, emotional, or psychological damage to your child.¹

The judge will decide whether or not to allow visits in the future. If visits are allowed, the judge will also decide whether any restrictions or safeguards are needed to keep your child safe. This might mean keeping the visits supervised. To make this decision, the judge will consider:

• evidence of the abusive parent’s current mental health condition;
• the possibility that the abusive parent will abuse their children, step-children, or another household member in the future; and
• the possibility that the abusive parent would voluntarily allow another person to abuse any of their children or step-children, even if they could prevent it.¹

¹ La. Rev. Stat. § 9:341(A)

The judge may limit a sexually abusive parent’s contact with your children if you can show the judge “clear and convincing evidence” that they:

1. sexually abused any of their children, their step-children, or another household member; or
2. could have stopped another person from sexually abusing their children, their step-children, or another household member, but they “willingly permitted” it to happen.¹

However, the sexually abusive parent can take steps to change the judge’s mind. They must prove at a court hearing that:

1. they have successfully completed a treatment program designed for sexual abusers;
2. visitation would be in the best interest of the child; and
3. visitation would not cause physical, emotional, or psychological damage to the child.¹

Then, the judge will decide whether or not to grant visitation by considering:

• evidence of the sexually abusive parent’s current mental health condition; and
• the possibility that they will repeat their abuse in the future.

If the judge decides to allow visits, they can also put rules or safeguards in place to protect your child. This may include ordering supervised visitation.¹

^{1 ​} La. Rev. Stat. § 9:341(B)

Learn about what types of custody are available and how domestic violence might affect custody in your state. Think about what you will ask for, what would be best for your child, and what would be safest for both of you.  

You can prepare for court by gathering evidence that helps explain why you should have custody. Your evidence should relate to the “best interest factors” that a judge looks at to determine what’s best for your child. You can see How will a judge make a decision about custody? for more information.

Custody cases are complicated, so you may want to get a lawyer. If you can hire someone, you can use this list of questions as your guide when deciding which lawyer to choose. If you can’t hire a lawyer, you may at least want to try getting a free or low-cost consultation to help you make a legal strategy for your case.

The next step in the custody process is to have “preliminary” court dates. Preliminary means introductory or preparatory. These might have a different name in your state, such as “first appearance,” “status conference,” or something else. They are when certain issues can be dealt with in the early stages of the case. Some of the issues that might be dealt with are:

• problems with service of process;
• referrals to mediation;
• temporary custody and visitation orders; and
• pretrial motions.

During this stage, the judge will often give temporary custody and visitation orders that last while the case continues. In some cases, the judge may assign a guardian ad litem or an attorney for the child.

For more information to help you prepare for the preliminary court dates, go to The first appearance in our Before the Trial section. 

If you disagree with the judge’s order, there are a couple of legal actions you would need to file right away, such as a motion for reconsideration or an appeal.

• A motion for reconsideration asks the judge to decide differently based on the law or new evidence.
• An appeal moves the case to a higher court and asks that court to review the lower court’s decision due to a judge’s error.

Each state has a set time limit to file these actions, usually ranging from 10 to 60 days. To know your case’s exact timeframe, you should ask an attorney in your state.  

You might also be able to ask the judge to change your order in the future if there is a “substantial change of circumstances” after the case is decided. You can do this by filing a motion or petition to change (modify) the order. However, usually, this can only be filed under certain circumstances. Here are a few examples of events that might be considered substantial changes in circumstances:

• The other parent gets sent to jail or charged with child abuse or neglect;
• The other parent is not following the custody and visitation order; or
• Your child’s needs change in a big way.

After a final custody order is issued, there may come a time when you and your children move to a different state. For information about how to request to transfer the custody case to a new state, please go to the Transferring a custody case to a different state section in our general Custody page.

Keep in mind that parents often need to get permission from the judge or from the other parent to move their children out of state. Please talk to a lawyer before you leave the state. It’s important to make sure your plans to move don’t violate your custody order or your state’s parental kidnapping laws.