Louisianas New Joint Custody Law.pdfVIP

Louisiana Law R eview Volume 43 | Number 3 J anuary 1983 Louisianas New Joint Custody Law Richard C. Guerriero Jr. Repository Citation Richard C. Guerriero Jr., Louisianas New Joint Custody L aw, 43 La. L. Rev. (1983) Available at : /lalrev/vol43/iss3/4 This Note is brought to you for ree and open access by the Law R eviews and Journals at DigitalCommons @ LSU Law Center. It has been accepted for inclusion in Louisiana Law R eview by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons @ LSU Law Center. For more information, please contact sarah.buras@. NOTES LOUISIANAS NEW JOINT CUSTODY LAW A separation or divorce proceeding traditionally has resulted in an award of sole custody of any minor children of the marriage to one of the parents, even when both parents have been willing and fit to have custody.1 This result may be unfair to the child, the non- custodial parent, and even the custodial parent, who may have dif- ficulty bearing the burden of sole custody.2 Many courts and legislatures have decided that it is sometimes better to place the child in the custody of both parents by awarding joint custody. This solu- tion has been accepted by the Louisiana Legislature in a recently enacted law which establishes a preference for joint custody.4 The Copyright 1983, by LOUISIANA LAW REVIEW. 1. See, e.g., Cooley v. Cooley, 411 So. 2d 750 (La. App. 3d Cir. 1982); Jowers v. Jowers, 393 So. 2d 790 (La. App. 2d Cir. 1981); Kerr v. Kerr, 349 So. 2d 913 (La. App. lst Cir. 1977). 2. See M. ROMAN W. HADDAD, THE DISPOSABLE PARENT; THE CASE FOR JOINT CUSTODY