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Last
Modified on
Apr 18, 2025
Historically, fathers have not gotten to spend as much time with their children as mothers, at least when those parents are not married or when they get divorced. There was a time in the country’s history when courts would assume that a mother would be a better caretaker than a father, and they would automatically give her custody of the children.
At the same time, fathers were more likely to be involved in the workforce. This was before the rise of equal rights for female workers, and the cultural shifts that now mean women are just as likely to work as men. In any case, this also meant that fathers would often be ordered to pay child support since they had an income and mothers did not.
Is this still how it works? If you’re getting divorced, should you be worried that you’re never going to see your children again?
Those days are long over
There is good news. The days when mothers automatically received custody of children are long over in Louisiana. Courts now tend to presume that it is better for both parents to be involved, so they will err on the side of giving both parents custody time. This sometimes means a 50/50 split, and it sometimes means that one parent still sees the child less often. But it is very uncommon for the court to simply hand sole custody to a mother on account of her gender. This is seen as unfair to the fathers and unfair to the children.
