How to Modify a Child Custody or Visitation Order in Louisiana

By Donald J. Melancon, Attorney at Law · Last reviewed September 26, 2026

A Louisiana custody judgment can be changed, but not simply because one parent wants a different arrangement. The court keeps the power to modify it while the child is a minor, and the parent asking for the change has to meet a burden of proof that depends mostly on how the original judgment came about. This article explains the two burdens, what counts as a change in circumstances, the relocation rules, and how a modification case moves through court in Orleans, Jefferson, Plaquemines, or St. Bernard Parish.

First question: what kind of judgment do you have?

Louisiana courts draw a sharp line between two kinds of custody judgments. A stipulated judgment (or consent judgment) is one the parents agreed to, signed without the judge taking evidence about either parent’s fitness. A considered decree is one rendered after the court received evidence of parental fitness to exercise care, custody, and control of the child — usually after a contested hearing or trial.

Most custody judgments in the New Orleans area are consent judgments. But if a judge heard testimony about parenting before signing, it is likely a considered decree even if some terms were agreed. Which category applies is sometimes disputed in the modification case itself, so pull the judgment and the record before filing anything.

The heavy burden for a considered decree: the Bergeron standard

If the existing judgment is a considered decree, the Louisiana Supreme Court’s decision in Bergeron v. Bergeron, 492 So.2d 1193 (La. 1986), controls. The parent seeking the change bears a heavy burden of proving either that continuing the present custody is so deleterious to the child as to justify a modification, or proving by clear and convincing evidence that the harm likely to be caused by a change of environment is substantially outweighed by its advantages to the child.

The reasons the court gave: litigation over a child should have an end, and a child’s established way of living should not be disrupted except for imperative reasons. In Bergeron itself, the father’s fourth attempt to change custody failed even though the mother had remarried and moved, because he offered no evidence of how those changes affected the child.

The lighter burden for a consent judgment

If the existing judgment is a stipulated judgment, the Bergeron burden does not apply. Instead, as the Louisiana Supreme Court stated in Evans v. Lungrin, 708 So.2d 731 (La. 1998), the parent seeking modification must prove two things: that there has been a material change of circumstances since the original judgment was entered, and that the proposed modification is in the child’s best interest.

“Best interest” is the standard the Civil Code sets for every custody decision (article 131), and article 134 lists the factors the court weighs. The potential for the child to be abused is the primary consideration. Others include the emotional ties between each parent and the child; the length of time the child has lived in a stable environment; each parent’s moral fitness, health, and any history of substance abuse, violence, or criminal activity; the child’s reasonable preference if old enough to express one; each parent’s willingness to encourage a close relationship with the other parent; the distance between the homes; and the care each parent has actually provided. Since 2018, article 134 also directs that in cases involving family violence or domestic abuse, the court applies the separate protective provisions of R.S. 9:341 and 9:364.

Two other rules shape what a modified judgment can look like. Article 132 keeps joint custody as the default absent an agreement, with sole custody only on clear and convincing evidence. And R.S. 9:335, amended in the 2026 Regular Session, now provides that physical custody shall be shared equally unless the court determines that is not feasible or not in the child’s best interest.

What counts as a material change — and what does not

Whether a change is “material” depends on its effect on the child, not just on the parents. Circumstances that commonly support modification include:

• A parent’s relocation that makes the existing schedule unworkable (the out-of-state move in Evans was held to be one);
• A change in a parent’s work schedule, housing, or household that affects the child’s daily life;
• A parent’s substance use, arrest, or a new protective order;
• The child’s changing needs — a new school, a medical or educational diagnosis, or a schedule that no longer fits an older child; and
• Persistent interference with the other parent’s custody time, telephone contact, or decision-making.

What generally does not work: the mere passage of time; a remarriage or a move standing alone, with no evidence of its effect on the child; and a child’s stated preference by itself. Bergeron said directly that a child’s preference, with no explanatory evidence, is not a material change, and it refused to count the time the father had kept the child after improperly retaining him, so that a parent cannot nullify a judgment by withholding the child and waiting.

Moving with the child: the relocation statute

Louisiana’s relocation statute, R.S. 9:355.1 and following, applies when a parent intends to move the child’s principal residence out of state, or to a location within Louisiana more than 75 miles from the child’s principal residence at the time of the most recent custody decree. It does not apply where the parents have signed a written agreement about the move.

The notice rules are strict. The moving parent must send written notice by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, or by commercial courier, no later than the 60th day before the proposed move (R.S. 9:355.5). The notice must include the new address, the date, the reasons, a proposed revised custody schedule, and a statement that any objection must be made in writing within 30 days of receipt, which is the deadline R.S. 9:355.7 sets for the other parent to object by the same kind of mail or courier. If the parents have equal physical custody under a court order, the moving parent must obtain court authorization after a contradictory hearing or the other parent’s written consent before relocating (R.S. 9:355.4). Beginning January 1, 2027, a 2026 amendment measures the 75 miles by the shortest publicly accessible driving route or public ferry. A move made without following the statute can be held against the moving parent, and a proposed relocation is often what triggers a modification case in the first place.

How a modification case moves through court

The procedural vehicle is a rule to show cause (often styled a rule to modify custody) filed in the court that rendered the existing judgment, under the same case number. The other parent is served, and the matter is set for hearing. In Orleans Parish, custody cases are allotted to the Domestic Relations Sections of Civil District Court, and the court’s rules send later filings between the same parties back to the original section. In Jefferson Parish, custody is heard in the 24th Judicial District Court, which requires a hearing officer conference affidavit and income statement with any custody or support filing and routes contested custody through a hearing officer first. Plaquemines and St. Bernard Parish cases are heard in their respective district courts.

Along the way, the court may order mediation, and in a contested case it may appoint an independent custody evaluator to interview the parents and child and report back. The Supreme Court in Evans sent that case back so an independent evaluation could be done before a domiciliary parent was designated.

If the modified judgment keeps joint custody, R.S. 9:335 requires a joint custody implementation order allocating each parent’s physical custody periods and decision-making authority, and designating a domiciliary parent unless there is good cause not to. The domiciliary parent is the one with whom the child primarily resides and who makes decisions affecting the child unless the order says otherwise, subject to court review of major decisions. Changing the domiciliary parent is itself a modification and carries the same burden as any other.

Practical steps, whether you are asking for a change or opposing one

• Document the change. School, medical, police, and court records and text messages turn a claim into proof.
• Keep a parenting-time log. A calendar of custody actually exercised, missed exchanges, and who handled school and doctor visits is often the most persuasive exhibit.
• Do not withhold the child as self-help. Keeping a child past your time or refusing an exchange violates the order, creates no change in circumstances in your favor, and tends to become evidence against you.
• Communicate in writing, civilly and about the child. Judges and hearing officers read the messages.
• Follow the existing order while the case is pending, and if a move is involved, send the statutory relocation notice on time.

For how the initial custody decision is made, see Child Custody in Louisiana: How Judges Decide; for the property side of a divorce, see Community Property in a Louisiana Divorce: Who Gets What?

For purposes of compliance with the Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct, the attorney responsible for this content is Donald J. Melancon (105 Field Street, Belle Chasse, Louisiana 70037).