Louisiana custody laws are found in the Civil Code of the Louisiana Code. Articles 132-134 are especially important to parents as they create a Louisiana custody agreement and Louisiana parenting plan. Here is a summary of the information in the statutes.
The presumption of joint custody–Article 132. This statute explains that if the parents agree on the custody arrangements, the court will accept them. If the parents are not able to agree, the court awards joint custody to the parents. This doesn’t mean that a Louisiana custody schedule has to split the time exactly between the parents, instead it means that each parent is expected to be involved and participating in the child’s life. The parents can decide how to share the joint custody.
The best interest of the child. The law states that every decision about custody must be made with the best interest of the child in mind. Here are some of the factors the court considers when determining what is in the best interest of the child (this is found in Article 143):
- The love, affection, and other emotional ties between each party and the child.
- The capacity and disposition of each party to give the child love, affection, and spiritual guidance and to continue the education and rearing of the child.
- The capacity and disposition of each party to provide the child with food, clothing, medical care, and other material needs.
- The length of time the child has lived in a stable, adequate environment, and the desirability of maintaining continuity of that environment.
- The permanence, as a family unit, of the existing or proposed custodial home or homes.
- The moral fitness of each party, insofar as it affects the welfare of the child.
- The mental and physical health of each party.
- The home, school, and community history of the child.
- The reasonable preference of the child, if the court deems the child to be of sufficient age to express a preference.
- The willingness and ability of each party to facilitate and encourage a close and continuing relationship between the child and the other party.
- The distance between the respective residences of the parties.
- The responsibility for the care and rearing of the child previously exercised by each party.
All of these are important issues that affect a Louisiana visitation schedule. The mother and father need to ponder them deeply so they can come up with a solution that helps the child.