Louisiana act addresses minor parents, paternity acknowledgments and child support

Louisiana Act 130 establishes rules for acknowledgments of paternity by unemancipated minors and adds a consideration for courts deciding whether to deviate from child-support guidelines. The Legislature’s bill history records approval on May 15, 2026 and an effective date of August 1, 2026.

Under new Louisiana Revised Statutes section 9:405.1, an unemancipated minor younger than 16 may not enter an acknowledgment of paternity. An unemancipated minor who is 16 or 17 may not do so without judicial authorization. The provision is framed around unemancipated minors; it does not state the same rule for every minor regardless of status.

A request for authorization may be submitted to a court of competent jurisdiction in the parish where the minor parent executing the acknowledgment is domiciled or where the child is domiciled. The court may authorize an acknowledgment ex parte after considering the best interests of both the minor parent and the child to be acknowledged. The act permits the court to require the minor parent’s presence to assess understanding of the acknowledgment and its consequences, the right to seek blood and tissue tests before signing, and whether the acknowledgment was discussed with parents or a tutor.

Separately, the act adds language to the child-support deviation considerations in section 9:315.1(C). The court may consider an unemancipated minor parent’s limited contractual, procedural and earning capacity, available family or other support, and the desirability of continuing the parent’s education. The act also renumbers the other-consideration provision and revises its wording. A deviation remains a question under the applicable statutory framework; the new consideration does not automatically determine a support amount.

The act addresses paternity acknowledgment and support guidelines. Its best-interest language for authorization is specific to that procedure and should not be confused with a general custody-factor determination.