Louisiana House Bill HB1239

Louisiana 2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 4/13/26
• Introduced: 4/14/26
• Engrossed: 4/21/26
• Refer: 4/22/26
• Report Pass: 5/5/26
• Enrolled: 5/19/26

Caption

CHILDREN/CUSTODY: Provides relative to child custody

Summary

HB 1239 amends Louisiana’s joint custody statute to clarify the default expectation for physical custody in joint custody decrees. Under the bill, physical custody of children should be shared equally unless the court determines that equal sharing is not feasible or is not in the child’s best interest. The measure is a targeted change to R.S. 9:335(A)(2)(b), which governs how courts implement joint custody orders. The bill does not create a new custody framework, but it strengthens the statutory preference for equal physical custody while preserving judicial discretion. Courts retain authority to depart from equal sharing when the facts of a case show that doing so would not work or would not serve the child’s best interest. As enacted, the bill becomes Act 605 and directly affects custody determinations in family law cases involving joint custody.

Impact

HB 1239 updates Louisiana family law by revising the language in the joint custody implementation statute, R.S. 9:335(A)(2)(b). The change makes equal physical custody the stated default in joint custody arrangements, subject to a court’s finding that equal sharing is not feasible or not in the child’s best interest. This affects judges, parents, and other parties in custody disputes by giving clearer statutory guidance on physical custody allocation while leaving individualized best-interest determinations intact.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial. It passed the House 96-0 and the Senate 36-0, with additional unanimous support for Senate co-authors, indicating strong bipartisan agreement. The absence of recorded committee opposition or debate in the provided materials suggests the measure was viewed as a straightforward clarification of custody law rather than a contentious policy shift.

Contention

The main policy issue embedded in the bill is the balance between equal physical custody and judicial discretion. Supporters of the bill appear to favor a clearer presumption that children should share time equally with both parents in joint custody cases, while the statutory exception preserves the court’s ability to deviate when equal custody is impractical or contrary to the child’s best interest. No specific opposition is reflected in the votes or available transcripts, so any contention is limited to the general legal question of how strongly the law should favor equal custody versus case-by-case discretion.