Baton Rouge, LA- The fact is that some marriages just won’t last. In the U.S. approximately 40 to 50 percent of all marriages end in divorce and this has become a somewhat routine process but you may not be aware of divorce entails in Louisiana.

In order to file for divorce in Louisiana, at least one spouse must be a resident of the state for a minimum of 12 months prior to the filing.

Your Louisiana divorce attorney can file for a no-fault or fault divorce. When filing for a no-fault dissolution, the couple must be able to prove they have lived apart continuously over a period of 180 days prior to their filing.

A fault divorce is more complicated but can be obtained for a number of reasons including infidelity, physical or sexual abuse, abandonment of a spouse for a year or more and a conviction of a felony offense. In most of these cases, the divorcing parties will be required to provide evidence to prove why dissolution should be granted.

Louisiana is considered a “Community Property” state which means that property acquired during the marriage will be divided equitably if the couple cannot reach an agreement. Any assets obtained prior to the marriage or were received as gifts or inheritances are not considered community property.

Often times a couple cannot agree on how to divide assets or who will get custody of their children. When these issues cannot be resolved the couple will need to retain a Louisiana divorce lawyer to protect their interests.

Child custody is an important issue and courts in Louisiana take the child’s well-being into consideration. Child support is granted in proportion to each spouse’s income. The support is then offset to determine which spouse will pay the other child support.

This is just a brief overview of the process. Individual circumstances may differ and affect the final outcome of a divorce. Once a person has decided to proceed a divorce attorney will be able to tell the individuals they represent what they are entitled to.