Legal Insights & Resources
Plain-English articles on Louisiana legal topics from the Law Offices of Donald J. Melancon, L.L.C. This information is general and is not legal advice.
Criminal Defense Immigration Family Law Personal Injury Real Estate & Successions
Criminal Defense
How Does a Misdemeanor Conviction Affect Your Record in Louisiana?
A misdemeanor stays on your record until it is expunged. Where the record lives, who sees it, the collateral consequences, and how Article 894 and expungement can limit the damage…
Read more →How to Get a Bond Reduction in a Louisiana Criminal Case
How bail gets set in the first place, what a judge must consider, how a motion to reduce bond works, the different ways to post it, and the deadlines that can force release.
Read more →Arrested in New Orleans: What Happens in the First 72 Hours
Booking, the 72-hour first appearance, how bail is set, and how a case actually gets charged — what really happens in the days right after an arrest.
Read more →How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Criminal Defense Lawyer in New Orleans?
How criminal defense fees work — flat fees vs. hourly, what drives the price up or down, court-appointed counsel, and questions to ask before you hire.
Read more →First-Offense DWI in Orleans Parish: What to Expect
Arrested for a first DWI? Why a DWI is really two cases — the criminal charge and your driver’s license — the short OMV deadline, and what generally happens next.
Read more →Expungement in Louisiana: Who Qualifies and What It Really Does
What an expungement really hides, who can still see the record, the general waiting periods, and how long the process actually takes.
Read more →Immigration
Cancellation of Removal (the 42B) in New Orleans Immigration Court
The four requirements, the stop-time rule after Pereira and Niz-Chavez, what a hardship case actually needs, filing the EOIR-42B, and why a grant can wait years under the 4,000 cap…
Read more →Immigration Bond Hearings in Louisiana: Getting Released from ICE Detention
How bond works for people held in Louisiana ICE facilities — the custody decision, the bond hearing, who cannot get one, the 2025 changes, and what evidence actually matters.
Read more →What Happens at an Immigration Master Calendar Hearing in New Orleans?
A plain-English guide to your first appearance at the New Orleans Immigration Court — what a master calendar hearing is, what to expect, and how to prepare.
Read more →Can I Get an Internet-Based (Remote) Immigration Hearing?
Can your New Orleans immigration hearing be held online? How video and internet-based EOIR hearings work, who decides, and how to request one.
Read more →Family Law
How Child Support Is Calculated in Louisiana
The income-shares formula step by step: counting income, reading the schedule, the add-ons, Worksheet B for shared custody, how support is paid through the state, and when it can change…
Read more →How to Modify a Child Custody or Visitation Order in Louisiana
Which burden applies depends on whether your judgment was agreed or decided after a trial. The Bergeron standard, material change, relocation notice, and how the rule to modify works…
Read more →Community Property in a Louisiana Divorce: Who Gets What?
What counts as community property, what stays separate, when the community ends, and how a Louisiana court actually divides assets and debts in a divorce.
Read more →Child Custody in Louisiana: How Judges Decide
The best-interest standard, why joint custody is the starting point, what a domiciliary parent is, the factors judges weigh, and how orders get changed later.
Read more →Personal Injury
What to Do After a Car Accident in New Orleans
The steps that protect a claim in the first days after a crash, what to say and not say to insurers, and the recent changes to Louisiana law that now shape injury cases.
Read more →How Long Do You Have to File an Injury Claim in Louisiana?
Louisiana’s injury filing deadline changed in 2024 — and the date of the accident decides which rule applies to you. Plus the claims with much shorter fuses.
Read more →Real Estate & Successions
Louisiana Small Succession Affidavit: Passing a Home Without Court
Estates of $200,000 or less can often pass by a recorded affidavit with no court proceeding. Who qualifies, who signs, how it transfers the house, and when it will not work…
Read more →Do I Need a Lawyer to Buy a House in Louisiana?
Louisiana closes by act of sale before a notary, and a Louisiana attorney’s title opinion sits behind the title policy. When a buyer benefits from a lawyer of their own…
Read more →The Louisiana Eviction Process: How Long Does It Take?
A landlord’s overview of the Louisiana eviction process — notice to vacate, rule for possession, the hearing, the warrant, and typical timing.
Read more →Louisiana Successions: What Happens to Property When Someone Dies
Louisiana calls it a succession, not probate — and the rules genuinely differ from every other state. Forced heirship, community property, usufruct, and small successions.
Read more →Have a Question About Your Situation?
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