Louisiana Family Law: Civil Code Article 134(8) and its Applicability to a Divorce Attorney

This article deals with Louisiana Civil Code Art. 134(8): “The home, school, and community history of the child.” Both sections clearly contemplate the life that the child has lived thus far: his or her friends, social networks, community ties, schooling situation, and other localized social considerations.  A divorce attorney considers these factors important because most times, children need solid and effective socialization to become productive citizens of the future.  Teachers, coaches, and mentors often provide guidance; and peers, friends, and comrades offer valuable things such as companionship and security for the child.  
If a child has developed these relationships, particularly if they are reaching or already in adolescence, then it might be damaging to the child to tear them away from such attachments.  Some people would argue that doing so could compromise that particular child’s growth and development.  Some of us may actually be a little too familiar with the feeling of being uprooting from our childhood friends, and the negative effects it may have caused.  When a child is transplanted to another place, strange and new, they may struggle to develop a new identity in keeping with this change.   They have to “start from scratch” in forging new bonds with the people around them.  It is a lot to ask of a growing boy or girl.
Against this, a divorce attorney may note that children are enormously resilient and they often have an incredible ability to “bounce back.”  Obviously, if everything is equal, it is preferable that they do not have to utilize such resiliency.  But, a lawyer could note that if it is in the child’s best interests to move, then this is what the court should do, despite this factor – as all of the best interest factors are meant to be taken as a whole.
That said, there are scenarios that a divorce attorney is faced with where the child is relatively accustomed to such changes, and perhaps in these situations a court will consider the child’s community history less important than the other sections under article 134.  For example, military families oftentimes are accustomed to moving around the country quite a bit.  The children of these families are forced to learn how to adapt to sometimes very different communities in short periods of time.  If one of these families was to come asunder, and subsequently a custody battle ensued, a divorce attorney may not rely on section (8) as heavily.
While a court will not only consider these sections in making their custody determination, the value and importance of section (8) should not be understated.  After all, the guiding principal of the court is always looking at “the best interests of the child.”  Social sciences and normal life experiences tell us that the best interests of the child are often served by keeping them in the communities in which they grew up in.  
Will Beaumont is a divorce attorney in New Orleans. This article is informational, not legal advice.