Louisiana Child Custody Legal Questions

If you have a Schedule B child support judgment, you were probably able to document having the children for at least the time you specified. If that has not been made into a formal custody judgment, you may be able to demonstrate to the court that it is in the best interest of the children to be on a 50/50 schedule instead of a 47/53 schedule. For custody, the best interest of the children is what is considered, not what percentage of child support you pay. If custody is changed, usually child support is changed accordingly.... Read More

The ultimate decision whether to have a child or have an abortion is the mother's. You can't force her to have an abortion. Theoretically, you could sue her for the return of the money if you contend she deceived you in order to get you to pay it. If she decides to have the child, you are legally responsible to help support the baby. You can't "give up your rights" to a child in Louisiana, unless (1) the state files to terminate your rights (such as in a child abuse or neglect case) or (2) if the child is being freed up for purposes of adoption.... Read More

A person's parental rights aren't automatically lost in Louisiana due to his or her failure to communicate with his or her child. However, that person's consent is not required for the child to be adopted by a step-parent or relative in an intrafamily adoption if he has failed to communicate or attempt to communicate with the child for over 180 days. If this is the case, give me a call and I'll be happy to help. I represent people in adoptions throughout Louisiana.... Read More

Your soon to be ex-son-in-law will not lose any rights unless there is an adoption. If there is little or no contact or support for six months, a parent may lose the right to object to an adoption, such as a step-parent adoption. These are some of several circumstances a court looks at to determine if the parent has the right to object. Note, even if the parent loses the right to object to an adoption, the parent is still entitled to notice and can still oppose the adoption.... Read More

This question is kind of all over the map, but I can answer it. First, the fact that you married your husband while pregnant with another man's child may not prevent your husband from having any parental rights and obligations to the child relinquished in the process of divorce. Your husband *must* raise the issue of his not being the biological parent of the child *in the divorce action* and ensure that the court declares him not to be the legal father of the child *before* the divorce is granted. If the question of paternity is not resolved prior to issuance of the decree of divorce, the law in Utah is that your husband would be deemed, as a matter of law, the father of the child, even if he's not the biological father. There may be more to this situation of yours than meets the eye, but when you ask about how this paternity issue could affect your qualifying for alimony, I don't really understand. You clearly cannot get child support from a man who is not declared legally to be the father of the child, if that's your question and if you were confusing child support with the term alimony. Alimony itself in Utah is based upon the need of the person claiming or wanting alimony and the ability of the other spouse to pay alimony. It is not much dependent upon child custody, although that can be a factor the court considers in awarding alimony.... Read More

In this situation, the court will attach great weight to the length of time the child has been with the grandparents or any other caretaker. The court will also consider your relationship with your daughter, as well as support you have provided, including housing, etc. throughout the child's life. If you are able to do so, you could petition the court for custody.... Read More

If you're not the child's biological father, you would not have parental rights, per se. But you would have the right to file for visitation given the circumstances. In Louisiana, most judges give a non-parent limited visitation, such as once a month, based on the child's age. Give me a call; I'd be happy to help you.... Read More

Adoption is a very complicated and technical legal process. If it's not done right, if the procedure isn't followed precisely, and if the documents aren't signed and filed in the right order, the judgment of adoption very well could be void and/or invalidated later. I've seen hearts broken and families torn apart under such circumstances. Therefore, I would not recommend going through an adoption without having an attorney representing you who is familiar with the adoption laws.... Read More

In Louisiana, you and your boyfriend would need to be married for an intrafamily adoption to take place. The mother's consent would be required unless she has failed to comply with a court order of support for over 6 months or if she has failed to communicate or attempt to communicate with the kids for a period of over 6 months.... Read More

Hello, There are so many minefields in that short sentence I dont have enough space to answer them all.  Can you simply hand your son over to Dad...generally speaking, yes.  Will you be shooting yourself in the foot...probably. You have "sole" custody for a reason.  Whether its because he was abusive, in jail, or attacked your child, the court saw fit to remove rights from him and give them to you.  Sole custody is relatively "rare" in Louisiana and the courts generally dont like to award it.  That being said, once you give Dad access to the child on a longer term basis, then HE has the right to file for custody.  If he is awarded domiciliary custody, you may be forced to pay HIM child support!  Be careful.  If you live in the New Orleans area, call The Civil Law Center at 504-342-4221 and set up a consultation before stepping into this minefield.... Read More

Hello, To a certain extent, it will depend on the laws of Ohio.  While your son did not get any "custody," he may have gotten "visitation."  Therefore, it behooves you to get a copy of the judgment from the Ohio court and speak with an attorney about your options.  IF he got visitation, he may be able to exercise that visitation in Louisiana with court approval.  Under the UCCJEA, that Ohio judgment may be enforced in Louisiana and visitation may be carried out. There are a number of variables inherent in this situation.  Indeed any time you deal with cross-jurisdictional battles, problems are multiplied.  Call The Civil Law Center, LLC at 504-342-4221 and set up an appointment to talk to a lawyer.  Every attorney there has experience dealing with cross-border disputes on custody.  If possible, bring a copy of that Ohio judgment so they can see what the court determined. Thanks!... Read More

Hello, Unfortunately, there are so many variables here, its hard to answer the question. Under the Wages v. Wages decision, a 15 year old was allowed to "choose" where he wanted to live...but that was AFTER a judgment was already in place. The court looked to how mature the child was to determine whether his "choice" constituted a "material change in circumstances." In YOUR case, there's no judgment. Ergo, both parties have equal custody of the child and a court certainly CAN take the childs wishes into consideration. A court "should" look to the practice of the parties and what has gone on with respect to the child's living arangements for the past few years. However, that doesnt mean that he's not armed with a compelling story of why he should have custody. Also, he may have some evidence that you have been recalcitrant to turn the child over...or something he can "spin" to show you were unwilling to turn the child over. Either way, guys typically dont file unless there is a benefit to them. As always, if you'd like to set up a consultation and live in the Orleans/Jefferson/St. Tammany area, dont hesitate to call The Civil Law Center, LLC 504-342-4221.... Read More

Hello, As in most cases, it will depend on your jurisdiction and judge.  Assuming for a moment that you are in a "fair" jurisdiction and have an "impartial" judge, then getting domiciliary custody of the kids should be fairly straighforward.  However, your evidence would have to be fresh enough to implicate the immediate impact on the children and show some really bad acts.  Some judge's dont particularly care if weed is smoked around kids...others do.  It simply depends.  As to her willingness to work, if the children are over the age of 5, then you can ask the court to "Impute" a salary to her for support calculations which normally helps significantly. As always, if you're in the New Orleans, St. Tammany, Washington or Jefferson Parish area, dont hesitate to call The Civil Law Center, LLC for a consultation.  504-342-4221.... Read More

Hello, Depending on what jurisdiction you're in (Jefferson parish versus Orleans for example) getting custody of your kids when Dad has abandoned them can be fairly straighforward.  However, it can also be a cahllenge if the Judge accepts some justification / reason from Dad as to why he did what he did.  Also, Dad may very well say that he never abandoned them at all and only got turned around while getting ice cream for the kids...or some other sob story.  Call The Civil Law Center, LLC to set up a consultation.  504-342-4221... Read More