05/13/2022
Louisiana Legal Grounds for Divorce
"Regular" (Non-covenant) Marriage Divorce Grounds:
A divorce may be granted, on the petition of a spouse, for a non-covenant marriage upon proof of the following grounds:
1. The spouses have been living separate and apart continuously for the requisite period of time or more prior to the filing of the Rule to Show Cause;
2. The other spouse has committed adultery; or
3. The other spouse has committed a felony and has been sentenced to death or imprisonment at hard labor.
Requisite Periods of Time:
180 days when there are no minor children of the marriage;
365 days when there are minor children of the marriage at the time the Petition is filed; or
180 days when there are minor children of the marriage and the court finds that the other spouse has physically or sexually abused the spouse seeking divorce or a child of one of the spouse; or
180 days when there are minor children of the marriage and after a contradictory hearing or consent decree, a protective order or an injunction has been issued against the other spouse to protect the filing spouse or a child of one of the spouses from abuse.
The cause of action for divorce is extinguished by the reconciliation of the parties.
Covenant Marriage Divorce Grounds:
Apart from any other law to the contrary, and subsequent to the parties obtaining counseling, a spouse to a covenant marriage may obtain a judgment of divorce only upon proof of any of the following:
1. The other spouse has committed adultery;
2. The other spouse has committed a felony and has been sentenced to death or imprisonment at hard labor;
3. The other spouse has abandoned the matrimonial domicile for a period of one year and constantly refuses to return;
4. The other spouse has physically or sexually abused the spouse seeking the divorce or a child of one of the spouses;
5. The spouses have been living separate and apart continuously without reconciliation for a period of two years; or
6. The spouses have been living separate and apart continuously without reconciliation for a period of one year from the date the judgment of separation from bed and board was signed; or if there is a minor child(ren) of the marriage, that the time frame must be one year and six month, unless abuse of a child of the marriage or of one of the spouses is the basis for which the separation from bed and board was obtained, in which case the time period is one year.
A covenant marriage agreement may not be dissolved, rescinded, or otherwise terminated by the mutual consent of the spouses.
Counseling or other such reasonable steps must be taken by the spouses to preserve the marriage one the parties experience marital difficulties, as required by the Declaration of Intent signed by the spouses. If the spouses begin living separate and apart, the counseling or other intervention should continue until the rendition of a judgment of divorce.
Counseling shall not be necessary, however, if one spouse has physically or sexually abused the spouse seeking the divorce or a child of one of the spouses.
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For More Information Visit: https://www.hg.org/divorce-law-louisiana.html
