Divorce Lawyers -- the Justification a Parent Needs to Change the Custodial Parent in Louisiana

Many times, child custody situations can be quite acrimonious.  Even after custody has been agreed to by the parties or affixed by the courts, problems may continue to persist.  Frequently divorce lawyers receive calls from distressed parents who are at odds about the child custody arrangement.  The most unfortunate result of these disputes is, of course, the children and their well-being.  One common misconception is that the smallest infraction on behalf of one spouse vis a vis the child custody arrangement can alter its decree.  This is not always the case.  Once a court has put a child custody order in place, they may be reluctant to substantially alter it.  One of the main reasons is because a family court wants the child to have the most calm, constant, and consistent lifestyle possible.  If a court is continually changing their living situation, than obviously that goal will not be served.  Let’s turn to an example to see a situation where a family court may or may not change custody arrangements.
Let’s say Mark and Tara have been separated for two years.  They have two children together, named David and Martin.  David and Martin are twins and are both nine years old.  David and Tara do not get along.  Their legal proceedings were long and drawn out, and there was a lot of finger-pointing between the divorce lawyers.  As a result of the subsequent hearings on child custody, Tara was named the custodial parent.  Mark was granted visitation rights to the children.  Two years later, Mark is concerned about the welfare of his kids.  He spoke to his friend the other day and his friend told him that he saw Tara drunk at the local bar.  The friend said that Tara could barely stand up and was slurring her words, and that her girlfriends apparently had to drive her home.
When Mark hears this, he flies into a rage.  He cannot stand the idea of Tara being the custodial parent of David and Martin.  He drives down to his divorce lawyers’ office so that he can petition the court to change the custodial parent from Tara to himself.  When he arrives, one of his divorce lawyers asks him what grounds he should petition the court to change the custody arrangement.  Mark tells him that the basis is the fact that Tara was seen drunk in public recently, and he has a witness to back that up.
Firstly, let me just disclaim that it is impossible to know what divorce lawyers will do in a hypothetical scenario.  Each case should be evaluated by a family law professional before deciding how to proceed.  That said, there may be a few things we can tentatively conclude about Mark’s dilemma.  For one thing, if a Louisiana court reviews this situation, they will always consider above all “the best interests of the child.”  This includes keeping the child in a stable environment, and requires that a judge seeking to change the custodial parent have sufficient reason to do so.
The above is purely informational and not legal advice.  Will Beaumont.  New Orleans.