Does incarceration count as abandonment for adoption in Louisiana?

In Louisiana, whether a parent's incarceration counts as abandonment depends on the facts of your situation, and the abandonment period in La. Ch.C. Art. 1245 is 6 months. Prison time is not automatically treated one way or the other in what we can point you to. The question is how the parent's circumstances line up with that article.

What Louisiana's abandonment period means for you: The period is 6 months under La. Ch.C. Art. 1245. If the other parent is incarcerated, the court will look at your facts. How the District Court applies Art. 1245 to a parent who is in prison, including what counts as contact or support, is something to confirm with the District Court clerk in your parish or with a Louisiana attorney.

Facts worth gathering: You do not need to decide the legal outcome yourself. It helps to write down what you know:

• When the parent last had contact with your child, and what kind it was
• Whether the parent has sent letters, calls, gifts or support, and when
• Whether the parent has asked to see or speak with the child
• Where the parent is currently held, so the court can be given accurate information

If the parent will not agree: A contested situation is a different path from an agreed adoption. A parent who objects, or whose rights are in dispute, is a question for an attorney or the District Court clerk, because the outcome turns on your specific facts.

Other Louisiana details that may matter:

• Court: Your petition is filed in the District Court in your parish.
• Child's wishes: Louisiana does not require the child's consent. The court asks for and considers the wishes of a child 12 or older (La. Ch.C. Art. 1253(C)).
• Home study: It is waived under La. Ch.C. Art. 1252(A).
• Residency: Louisiana has no minimum residency period, though you must be domiciled in the state.
• Timeline: Stepparent adoptions in Louisiana typically take 3-6 months.
• Cost: Court filing fees run about $200-$400, and the total typical cost is under $1,000, compared with $3,000-$5,000+ for an attorney.
• Serving the other parent: Louisiana allows personal service by sheriff, and service by publication if a parent's location is unknown after due diligence.
• Birth records: The Louisiana Office of Vital Records handles birth certificates after the adoption.

How we help: StepParent Adoption 360 is a document preparation service, not a law firm. You answer questions online, including questions about the other parent's situation, and we prepare the complete court document package for your parish. You file it yourself without an attorney. The price is $349 for the first child (or one adult adoptee) and $99 for each additional child. Court-ready documents arrive within 24-48 hours after you finish the questions, and we back them with a 100% court acceptance guarantee. We have helped 881 Louisiana families and 34,000+ families nationwide since 2001.