• Child custody laws protect children whose parents are divorcing or separating.children in garden image by Marzanna Syncerz from Fotolia.com
  
  When married couples divorce or unmarried couples separate, custody of any children must be decided. An unmarried father must establish paternity to have a right to custody. In Louisiana, parents can agree to their own custody arrangement or a court will decide custody.
  
  

Paternity

• In Louisiana, a father does not have the right to pursue custody of his child until paternity is established. Paternity can be established in two ways: by signing an Acknowledgement of Paternity or through a DNA test. The paternity form can be signed at the hospital immediately after the child's birth or at a later date if both parents agree that the man is the father. Both parents must sign the Acknowledgment of Paternity form in front of two witnesses and a Notary Public. The form must then be filed with Louisiana's State Vital Records Registry.
  
  If paternity is in dispute, a DNA test must be completed. The test will show if a man is not the father or will establish with 99.9 percent certainty that a man is the father. Once paternity is established, a father has the same rights to his child as the mother, including the right to seek custody.
  
  

Custody

• In Louisiana, where parents are able to create their own custody arrangement, a court will affirm the parents' agreement unless it goes against the child's welfare. However, where custody is in dispute, a court will determine the custody award. The state prefers joint custody with parents sharing responsibility for raising the child. This insures that the child will have a continuing, meaningful relationship with both parents. When joint custody is awarded, one parent is the primary custodian and the other is entitled to liberal visitation, including several weeks during the summer, at least half of the holidays and on alternating weekends.
  
  

Best Interests of the Child Standard

• When deciding custody, a Louisiana court examines several factors to create an arrangement that is in the best interests of the child. Factors include: (1) each parent's physical and mental health, (2) whether the child has any special needs, such as physical, developmental, emotional or education, (3) each parent's ability to meet the child's needs, (4) which parent has served as the child's primary custodian, (5) each parent's relationship with the child, (6) each parent's moral fitness, such as a history of drug and alcohol abuse or a criminal record, (7) each parent's ability to provide a stable home environment, (8) the distance between each parent's residence, (9) each parent's willingness to allow the child to maintain a relationship with the other parent and (10) the child's preference.
  
  If there is any history of domestic abuse against the other parent or the child, the abuser will not be entitled to share joint custody or be awarded sole custody. The only exceptions are where both parents have a history of abuse or if the other parent is even less suited to serve as the child's custodian. If both parents have committed abuse, the parent who has completed a treatment program and is the least likely to commit abuse again may be awarded custody. This is because a parent is preferred over a third party custodian. Second, if the other parent has a drug or alcohol addiction or suffers from a mental illness making her incapable of serving as the child's custodian, the parent who was abusive in the past can be awarded custody after completion of a court-ordered treatment program.