What are the adoption laws in Louisiana?

Louisiana handles stepparent adoption, which it calls intrafamily adoption, through the District Court in your parish under Louisiana Children's Code Title XII. The process is fairly straightforward, with no minimum residency period and no home study in a stepparent case.

Where you file: Your case goes to the District Court. Louisiana has 64 parishes, whether you live in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Lafayette, Lake Charles or a smaller community, and the clerk in your parish can tell you about local filing procedures.

Residency: Louisiana has no specific residency duration requirement (La. Ch.C. Art. 1180). You must be domiciled in the state, meaning you have your permanent home here, but you don't need to have lived here for a set number of months.

Child's consent: 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)).

Abandonment: Louisiana's abandonment provision uses a six-month period (La. Ch.C. Art. 1245). Whether it applies to your family depends on the facts, so ask the District Court clerk or an attorney if the other biological parent is absent or has not been involved.

Home study: A home study is waived in stepparent adoptions (La. Ch.C. Art. 1252(A)), which removes a step that can add time and expense in other kinds of adoption.

Paperwork: Louisiana families typically prepare:

• A Petition for Intrafamily Adoption
• A sworn statement of financial responsibility
• The spouse's consent to the adoption

Notice to the other parent: Louisiana allows personal service by sheriff. If the other parent's location is unknown, it allows service by publication after due diligence to find them. If the other parent might object, or you can't locate them, the details depend on your situation, so check with the clerk or an attorney.

Timeline: A stepparent adoption in Louisiana generally takes 3-6 months. An adult adoption is faster, at 4-8 weeks.

Cost: Court filing fees run about $200-$400. A self-filed stepparent adoption typically costs under $1,000 in total, compared with $3,000-$5,000+ when hiring an attorney. Your clerk can confirm the exact fee in your parish.

After the adoption: For questions about updating a birth certificate or other vital records, contact the Louisiana Office of Vital Records.

What this doesn't cover: Louisiana law has other details, such as who else may need to consent and any limits on who can be adopted. Confirm those points with the District Court clerk in your parish or an attorney, especially if your situation is contested or the other parent is unknown.

How we help: StepParent Adoption 360 is a document preparation service, not a law firm. You answer questions online, and we prepare the complete court document package for your parish, which you file 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, backed by our 100% court acceptance guarantee.