When you divorce with your spouse, one of the legal requirements you will both need to work on is your children’s custody and parenting time arrangements. Depending on the unique circumstances of your family, your child custody order may be sole, shared or joint.
To help provide a deeper insight on this family law matter, here are two frequently asked questions about child custody in Louisiana.
What are the different types of custody in Louisiana?
The state has two main types of custody: physical and legal. Physical custody refers to you and your spouse’s right to live with your children and the daily parental responsibilities that come with it. Legal custody refers to you and your spouse’s right to make important decisions about your children’s upbringing.
In most cases, the courts will encourage joint custody arrangements, where both of you will share physical and legal custody of your children. However, it is important to note that there are several factors about the “child’s best interest” standard that help influence the courts’ decisions regarding custody and visitation.
What are the common types of visitations?
Your visitation setup will depend on your children’s needs, your custody arrangement, and you and your spouse’s respective situations. Four common types of visitations in Louisiana are:
- Scheduled visitation: In this arrangement, the non-custodial parent (NCP) will follow a court-approved parenting plan that outlines a set schedule for when they can spend time with their children.
- Open visitation: In this arrangement, the NCP will have the freedom to visit their children at any given time. This visitation is only applicable in situations where both parties have a good working relationship as co-parents.
- Virtual visitation: This setup is for cases where the NCP cannot visit their children in person or if they live far away. In virtual visits, they will communicate with their children through phone and video calls.
- Supervised visitation: When there are concerns about the children’s safety, the court will order supervised visitations for the NCP. In this arrangement, the NCP will be accompanied by a third party when they visit their children to ensure that they will be safe while together.
While ending your marriage is a challenging experience to go through, your children deserve to adjust to their new living environment without being conflicted about which parent they should choose.
By finalizing your custody arrangement together and amicably agreeing to the terms of your parenting plan, you can ensure that your children can transition to the changes with ease and predictability.