Physical Address:

149 Freestate Boulevard

Shreveport, Louisiana 71107

Mailing Address:

P.O. Box 664

Rock Hall, MD 21661

Office: 318.670.8793

Fax: 888.723.3513

Email: robert@shreveportbossierlaw.com

Thank you so much for contacting my law office! Please read the privacy policy below, and then fill out this form as best as you can prior to our consultation. The purpose of this form is to help me evaluate your situation prior to our first meeting. Filling out this form is not an agreement that I will represent you. If you choose to hire me as your attorney, we will execute a separate engagement letter that will outline our respective responsibilities to each other.

Also, you should understand that I might learn information that would prevent me from representing you. For example, if you have a claim or adverse interest against an existing client, I have a professional and ethical obligation to avoid that conflict of interest.

If you have any concerns about the information sought herein, leave it blank and we can discuss those concerns at our first consultation. However, know that each item of information sought herein could be relevant to your legal situation.

If you are filling this form out on behalf of someone else, please input the potential client's information, not your own.

Privacy Policy

All information received from you is strictly confidential. Our firm takes every step possible to protect your privacy. The data submitted via this form is encrypted and secured using industry-standard 128-bit SSL encryption.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact our law office. We look forward to working with you!

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CASE INFORMATION

Please answer the following questions as completely as possible to help me evaluate your case.

Where is your spouse currently living?

We need a physical address. If not represented by an attorney, your spouse may need to be served by the sheriff with pleadings in this matter.

Date of Marriage:

Location of marriage (city, parish/county, country if not the United States):

Have you and your spouse entered into a Covenant Marriage?

A Covenant Marriage is a special matrimonial agreement between a man and a woman in which both parties declare their intent to remain married for life. Parties agree that before getting a divorce, they will undergo formal marital counseling before seeking a divorce. This requires more than just a marriage license, but also a special statement filed of record. It also affects the grounds by which you can get a divorce.

Yes

Address of last matrimonial domicile:

Where did you and your spouse last live together as a married couple?

Your Spouse's Full Name (Including Maiden name, if applicable):

If your spouse has filed an action against you for divorce, please state the date you were served with the divorce petition:

If you have been served with a petition for divorce, is there an order setting a hearing date? If so, please provide the date in the court's order.

What is the case number on the petition?

In which Parish was the suit filed?

What is the name of the attorney representing your spouse?

Please attach a copy of any legal documents that have been served on you by your spouse.

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GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE

Divorce in a non-covenant marriage is based either on Civil Code Articles 102 or 103. An Article 102 divorce is based solely upon living separate and apart for either 180 days (if there are no children of the marriage) or 365 days (if there are children of the marriage) has elapsed from the service of the petition, or from the execution of a written waiver of the service, and that you have lived separate and apart continuously for at least the requisite period of time.

In an Article 103 divorce, one of the following 5 grounds for divorce must be shown:

1. At the time you file your petition for divorce, you and your spouse have been living separate and apart continuously for the requisite period of time, i.e. 180 days with no children of the marriage or 365 days when there are children of the marriage.
2. The other spouse has committed adultery.

3 The other spouse has committed a felony and has been sentenced to death or imprisonment at hard labor.

4. During the marriage, the other spouse physically or sexually abused you or a child of one of the spouses, regardless of whether the other spouse was prosecuted for the act of abuse.

5. A protective order or an injunction was issued during the marriage against the other spouse to protect you or a child of one of the spouses from abuse.

A Covenant Marriage has more restrictive conditions for divorce. After counseling, a spouse can file for divorce based on:

1. The other spouse has committed adultery;
2. The other spouse has committed a felony and has been sentenced to death or imprisonment at hard labor;
3. The other spouse has abandoned the matrimonial domicile for a period of one year and constantly refuses to return;
4. The other spouse has physically or sexually abused the spouse seeking the divorce or a child of one of the spouses;
5. The spouses have been living separate and apart continuously without reconciliation for a period of two years; or
6. The spouses have been living separate and apart continuously without reconciliation for a period of one year from the date the judgment of separation from bed and board was signed; or if there is a minor child(ren) of the marriage, that the time frame must be one year and six months unless an abuse of a child of the marriage or of one of the spouses is the basis for which the separation from bed and board was obtained, in which case the time period is one year.

The answers below will guide us toward the type of divorce we need to file. If you have a Covenant Marriage, we will discuss your options at our first meeting.

If you and your spouse have physically separated, when did you and your spouse stop living together?

Important: A reconciliation between you and your spouse (i.e. resumed living together or resumed having sexual relations) restarts the time for separation. A divorce rendered on less than the required number of days is null and void.

Do any of the 5 grounds listed about under the Art. 103 divorce apply to your situation? If so, please provide as much detail as you can about the grounds if it involves adultery (proof of adultery), conviction of a felony (what court and case number) or any type of spousal or child abuse.

If you have already or soon will have lived separate and apart for more than 180 days (no children) or 365 days (with children), please make sure you answer the question above concerning the date of your separation.

CHILD CUSTODY

In a proceeding for divorce or thereafter, either spouse may request a determination of custody, visitation, or support of a minor child. The court shall award custody of a child in accordance with the best interest of the child.

If you have minor children, we will discuss those issues at our consultation.

Do you and your spouse have children together?

Yes

Do you or your spouse have children from a prior relationship?

Yes

PROPERTY ACQUIRED DURING THE MARRIAGE

Louisiana is a community property state which means that with some exceptions, anything acquired during the marriage is owned equally by you and your spouse. Everything you owned or owed prior to the marriage is your separate property. Property acquired by donation or inheritance will be separate property. Property acquired with separate funds and a statement that it is the intent to keep the property separate will generally remain separate. If you have any questions about whether a property is community or separate, list it as community property for now and we will discuss and make a determination at a later time.

Have you and your spouse acquired any real estate during your marriage? Ex. bought a house, bought investment property such as rental property.

Yes

Have you and your spouse acquired movable property during your marriage?

For this answer, movable property would include furniture, appliances, tools, vehicles, cattle, horses, antiques, jewelry, coins, artwork etc. Basically anything of significant value acquired during the marriage. With regard to titled property, such as vehicles, it doesn't matter who uses the vehicle or whose name the vehicle is registered in. If it was acquired during the marriage, the presumption is that it is community property.

Yes

Do you and your spouse have financial accounts such as banking accounts, savings accounts, brokerage accounts, life insurance policies, retirement accounts or pension plans?

List any account that has received funds from you during the marriage regardless of whether one of you had the account prior to the marriage. Contributions during the marriage might make a portion of that account community.

Yes

COMMUNITY DEBTS

Just as property acquired during the marriage is owned jointly by you and your spouse, debts or obligations incurred during the marriage are owed jointly.

Please list all outstanding debts or obligations incurred during the existence of the marriage. Please include the names and addresses of creditors, account numbers, date debt was incurred, present balance, amount of monthly payment. If the debt is secured by property, i.e. house loan, car loan, please identify the encumbered property.

YOUR SEPARATE PROPERTY OR DEBTS

There are exceptions to every rule, but basically, the property you owned before the date of your marriage is presumed to remain your separate property. Property inherited by you or donated to you after the marriage is presumed to be your separate property and property acquired with your separate funds and which you declare the intention to keep it as your separate property will be presumed to be your separate property.

The "fruits" of your separate property, however, can become community property if you have not executed a reservation of separate property agreement. For example, you may receive income from the sale of timber on land you inherited or owned before marriage. That income received from the timber sale would be the "fruit" of that separate property and may be treated as community property.

Further, you can elect before and even after the marriage to opt out of a community property arrangement. If done before marriage, you and your spouse would sign an agreement stating that you reject the Louisiana community property regime. This is commonly referred to as a "Pre-Nuptial Agreement" or "Pre-Nup".

Have you and your spouse executed a pre-nuptial or separate property agreement?

Yes

Please list property you claim to be your separate property.

Does any of your separate property produce income?

Examples, oil and gas royalty income, farm land, rental property, stock dividends, interest income from bonds. This is not an exclusive list. For the purposes of form, list everything and we can make the decision together.

Yes

Have you executed an agreement reserving the fruits of your separate property?

Yes

Did you and your spouse executed a separate property agreement or pre-nuptial agreement prior to your marriage or have a court authorize a separate property regime after the date of your marriage?

Yes

Did you bring any debt into the marriage?

Yes

Please list the separate property you expect your spouse to claim.

Does any of your spouse's separate property listed above produce income?

Yes

Did your spouse bring any debt into the marriage?

Yes

SPOUSAL INCOME

If you and your spouse have minor children, you both have an obligation of support for them. The amount of support is basically set by law, subject to certain factors such as who makes the most money, who has custody of the children and other special factors.

Additionally, you may be entitled to spousal support during the divorce proceeding and under certain circumstances after the divorce is final.

We can get your spouse's income information in the divorce proceeding, but to the extent you can, please answer the following questions so we can make a determination at our first meeting on how we will proceed.

Are you currently employed?

Yes

Is your spouse currently employed?

Yes

The information requested above is a basic information needed to begin my assessment of your case. However, feel free to provide additional information about your case in the space below to further help me understand your situation and what you hope to achieve in this matter.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND ACCEPTANCE

I acknowledge that I have read and hereby accept the above privacy policy regarding use of my personal information.

THANK YOU!

Thank you so much for completing this intake questionnaire. This information will be extremely helpful in evaluating your case. We will contact you as soon as possible with any updates.

Please click the SUBMIT button below when you have finished answering all questions.