Timeline in Louisiana

Article 102: File First, Then Wait

Under Article 102, a spouse can file the divorce petition before the living-separate-and-apart period has run. But judgment can't be granted until two things happen. The required separation period must have elapsed since service of the petition, or since a written waiver of service. The spouses must also have lived separate and apart continuously for that same period, right up until a rule to show cause is filed. Filing under Article 102 starts a clock. That clock has to run its course before the divorce can be finalized.

Article 103: The Period Is Already Complete

Under Article 103, the qualifying living-separate-and-apart period must already be fully satisfied on the date the petition is filed. So must a fault ground, if used instead: adultery, a hard-labor felony conviction, abuse of the petitioning spouse or a child, or a protective order issued during the marriage. The waiting requirement is met before the case even starts. So no additional post-filing waiting period applies before judgment can be sought on this track. In practice, an uncontested Article 103 filing is Louisiana's fastest path to a final judgment. That's a case where the separation period is already complete, with no dispute over custody, support, or property.

The 180- and 365-Day Separation Periods

Civil Code Article 103.1 sets the length of the living-separate-and-apart period that both Article 102 and Article 103 rely on. That length isn't uniform: 180 days if there are no minor children of the marriage, and 365 days if there are minor children, as of the date the Article 102 rule or Article 103 petition is filed. This distinction matters for planning either track. A couple with children needs nearly twice as long a separation period as a couple without children, no matter which filing sequence they use.

Residency and What Slows a Case Down

Louisiana has no fixed minimum residency period before a spouse may file. Jurisdiction exists if one or both spouses are domiciled in Louisiana at the time of filing. If a spouse has maintained a residence in a Louisiana parish for six months, that residence creates a rebuttable presumption of domicile there. The case has to be filed in the parish where either spouse is domiciled, or in the parish of the last matrimonial domicile. That venue rule can't be waived. A judgment from a court of improper venue is an absolute nullity. The most common source of delay is choosing the wrong track for the situation.

That means filing under Article 103 before the separation period is actually complete. It can also mean filing under Article 102 without properly serving the petition, so the post-filing clock never starts.