How to File for Divorce in Louisiana

A Louisiana court can hear a divorce if, when the case is filed, at least one spouse is domiciled in Louisiana. If a spouse has lived in a Louisiana parish for six months, the law presumes that spouse is domiciled in Louisiana in that parish (the presumption can be challenged). The same rule applies to actions to annul a marriage.

Louisiana's usual no-fault path is the Civil Code Article 102 divorce: one spouse files a petition, the other is served or signs a written waiver of service, and after the 180- or 365-day period has passed while the spouses live separate and apart, a motion (rule to show cause) is filed asking the court to grant the divorce. Spouses who have already lived apart for the full period can instead file directly under Article 103(1). Covenant marriages cannot be ended by mutual consent.

In a divorce filed under Civil Code Article 102, the required period must pass after the petition is served (or service is waived in writing), and the spouses must have lived separate and apart continuously for that period before the final motion (rule to show cause) is filed. The period is 180 days if there are no minor children of the marriage and 365 days if there are minor children. Under Article 103, the spouses must already have lived apart for the required period when the petition is filed; the fault-based grounds in Article 103 have no separation period.