It is not always necessary to wait until you receive your divorce judgment to begin to date again in Louisiana. For the most part, so long as you have filed a petition for divorce, it is possible for you to begin to date any you will not lose your right to spousal support.
Divorces in Louisiana can take up to two years,
and it is common for one of the spouses to want to begin dating someone else before legally ending their marriage. It could also be that another person is the reason that you may want to end your marriage and you do not want to have to wait for up to a year to begin dating them.
A common question for people ready to move on is how dating will affect their divorce case. The answer, however, is that it depends on whether you are seeking final spousal support, and whether you are concerned that your spouse may be able to get divorced alleging adultery.
For the most part, as long as you have filed a petition for divorce, it is fine to date someone else in Louisiana. There are a number of caveats, however. The first is that you must make sure that you are safe and that the spouse that you are divorcing does not become violent. To better protect yourself, you can try to get a protective order, which is registered in a state database that law enforcement can access.
Another caveat is to make sure that your divorce request is actually granted. This is because you do not want to find yourself facing liability, as you would no longer be free from fault. One of the standards to prevent you from getting final spousal support in Louisiana is that you are free from fault prior to the filing of the petition to dissolve your marriage. So, if your petition is not granted, for whatever reason, you will probably find that you will not be found free from fault even if you are in need of support and your spouse has the ability to pay.
Even if the judgment goes through, the court could still find that you are cohabitating with another person. Cohabitation is defined, with regard to final spousal support, as living with another person in the manner of married persons. Beyond this, it is simply the court’s judgment to find whether you are in fact cohabiting. Facts that could lead a court to believe that you are cohabiting are things such as how often you two spend the night together, having clothes or a toothbrush at each other’s houses, going on vacations together etc.
Committing adultery during the marriage could also result in an adultery based divorce. This means that your spouse could end the marriage immediately and forego the normal waiting periods. The reason that this would not be advantageous to you is if you are interested in getting interim spousal support and other support such as maintaining joint health insurance, etc.
An additional negative is that your spouse is alleging adultery in public record. This is bad because it can be embarrassing, especially if you are politician or concerned with maintaining prominence in the community.
With all this said, you should still contact your attorney to make sure that it is fine for you to begin dating prior to a court order ending your marriage. However, if you are not requesting final or interim spousal support, and you are not a politician, you can be hopeful that your attorney may advise you that it is okay to begin dating again.
The above material is intended for information purposes only. It is not intended as professional legal advice and should not be construed as such. Attorney Will Beaumont practices in New Orleans, La.
