Married couples in Louisiana who wish to get a divorce should prepare themselves. It’s important to know the grounds for divorce in the state.
What is the divorce law in Louisiana?
Louisiana is a state that follows the laws of no-fault and fault divorce. This means that you can obtain a divorce by stating “irreconcilable differences” between you and your spouse. At the same time, you can also file for divorce based on certain grounds. Depending on the circumstances within your marriage, you might want to file a fault divorce based on one of the grounds for divorce.
What are the grounds for divorce in Louisiana?
Louisiana allows married couples to seek a divorce based on three different grounds. One of them is that the couple has lived separately for at least 180 days. This length of time is acceptable if there are no minor children involved. If there are minor children in the picture, one spouse can file for divorce after living separately from the other for 365 days. However, if there’s a situation of domestic violence or sexual abuse, it might be possible to use these grounds with modifying rules.
It’s required that the couple lived separately prior to one spouse filing the divorce petition.
Adultery is a common ground for divorce in the state. If one spouse has carried on an extramarital affair during the marriage, the other spouse can use adultery as the grounds for seeking a divorce. However, it’s only possible to successfully obtain a divorce if there is sufficient proof and someone else is able to provide evidence and corroborate the allegations of adultery. There must also be proof that a sexual extramarital relationship existed.
Conviction of a felony is the last grounds for divorce in Louisiana. If one spouse has committed a serious crime that was classified as a felony and was convicted, the other spouse can choose to file for divorce.
It’s important to seek help if you are considering filing for divorce based on any of these grounds. Having all the information might help the proceedings along.
