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FAMILY LAW

The Law Office of Derriel C. McCorvey, L.L.C. handles many different areas of Louisiana family law, such as divorce, spousal support, child custody, child support, visitation, partition of community property, restraining orders, injunctions, adoption, just to name a few.

There are four basic stages to domestic litigation:


       1. Divorce
       2. Spousal support (more commonly known as alimony)
       3. Child Custody and Child Support
       4. Community Property Partition

The Law Office of Derriel C. McCorvey, LLC, will give you a basic idea of what is entailed in each of the areas listed above. Jurisdiction basically deals with whether a particular Court can hear a case. In general, a divorce can be filed in Louisiana if one or both spouses are domiciled in the state. A suit to obtain the legal custody of a minor child can be brought in Louisiana if the child is domiciled in the state. If a spouse or minor has had an established residence in a parish of Louisiana for six months, they are presumed to be domiciled within the state. See La. CCP 10.

DIVORCE

 Louisiana Law provides several different ways for a spouse to obtain a divorce:

      

1.    

A divorce shall be granted upon proof that you and your spouse have lived separate and apart for at least 180 days from the date of service of the petition of divorce, where there are no minor children of the marriage; however, if the Parties have minor children, a divorce shall be granted upon proof that you and your spouse have lived separate and apart for at least 365 days [1 year] from the date of service of the petition of divorce. see La. CC Art 102

      

2.    

A divorce shall be granted upon proof that you and your spouse have lived separate and apart for at least 180 days before the filing of a petition for divorce, where there are no minor children of the marriage; however, if the Parties have minor children, a divorce shall be granted upon proof that you and your spouse have lived separate and apart for at least 365 days [1 year] from the date of service of the petition of divorce. see La. CC Art 103.1

      

3.    

A divorce shall be granted upon proof that your spouse has committed adultery.

      

4.    

A divorce shall be granted upon proof that your spouse has committed a felony and been sentenced to death or imprisonment at hard labor.

      

5.    

A party to a covenant marriage, (see La. Rev Stat 9:272-9: 275), can be granted a divorce upon proof that they have lived separate and apart from their spouse for two years without reconciliation, 18 months separation if there are children; upon proof that your spouse committed adultery; upon proof that your spouse committed a felony and been sentenced to death or imprisonment at hard labor; or upon proof that your spouse abused the child of either party.

      

* There are usually (3) separate Court appearances that you need to make:

      

      

(1)    

The first Court hearing concerns custody of any children, child support, restraining orders or injunctions, the use of essential community property, and temporary spousal support.

      

      

(2)    

The second Court hearing is used to finalize the divorce, and to determine permanent spousal support.

      

      

(3)    

The third Court hearing involves splitting up the community property between the two spouses.

CUSTODY

  Simply put, Louisiana law requires that the Court evaluate and determine custody based upon “the best interest of the child(ren)”. (see La. CC Art. 131) The Court will award custody according to an agreement by the parents unless the “best interest of the child(ren)” requires otherwise. If no agreement can be reached, or the Court feels the agreement is not in the best interest of the child(ren), then the Court will award joint custody. However, either parent can over come the presumption of joint custody by providing “clear and convincing evidence” that sole custody of one parent is in “the best interest of the child(ren)” (see La. CC Art. 132). A parent not awarded custody is entitled to reasonable visitation. The following factors are used to determine the child’s “best interest.”

1. The love, affection, and other emotional ties between each party and the child.
2. The ability of each party to provide the child with food, clothing, and medical care.
3. The length of time the child has lived in a stable, adequate environment.
4. The morals of each party, insofar as it affects the welfare of the child.
5. The mental and physical health of each party.
6. The reasonable preference of the child, if the child is of sufficient age.
7. The distance between the respective residences of the parties.
8. The responsibility for the care and rearing of the child previously exercised by each party.

Joint Custody - Sometimes the Court will grant each parent co-domiciliary status. This basically means that parents spend equal time with the children and each parent has an equal say in the decision making process. However, the Court will usually designate one parent as the domiciliary parent. This means that the other parent is given visitation every other weekend and the parents alternate holidays. Provisions can also be made for summer school, special vacations, and other agreed upon times.

Shared Custody - A joint custody order in which each parent has physical custody of the child for an approximately equal amount of time.  In shared custody awards the child support obligation of the non-domiciliary parent is reduced to reflect the fact that that parent exercises physical custody and incurs costs associated with that custody just as much or equal to the domiciliary parent.

Sole Custody - One parent is given primary custody over the child(ren). Reasonable visitation is still given to the other parent subject to the “best interest of the child” standard. However, visitation may be restricted and/or supervised if the circumstances require it.

Child Support

      Both parents are required to support any children they have. Child support is paid to the domiciliary parent. The amount of support paid is determined based upon the child support guidelines. (See La. Rev Stat 9:315) It is based upon the number of children and the gross income of the parties. Expenses such as medical, dental, child care, and other extraordinary expenses are taken into account.

Spousal Support

      The Court may award temporary spousal support to help a spouse maintain the same lifestyle they had during the marriage. A party free from fault may receive permanent spousal support up to 1/3 of the other spouse’s net income based on the ability of that spouse to pay.

Property

      Louisiana is a community property state. This basically means that both property and debts are distributed equally among the parties. A separate law suit must be filed in order to partition the community property. This suit can be filed at any time after the initial divorce petition is filed.

Should I see an attorney?

      The quick answer to this is YES. Divorce and Custody proceedings can be extremely complicated. Entering into any of these proceedings on your own either as a plaintiff or a defendant is never a good idea. Derriel C. McCorvey has a wealth of experience in handling family law cases. He will fight for your rights, preserve your dignity, and make sure that you either get the support you or your children need, or protect you from unreasonable support demands.

 

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    © 2012 The Law Office of Derriel C. McCorvey, L.L.C.. All rights reserved.
    The information you obtain at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation. We invite you to contact us and welcome your calls, letters and electronic mail. Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please do not send any confidential information to us until such time as an attorney-client relationship has been established.

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