Nancy Landry (HB 1260) Act No. 360
Existing law requires that on receiving an application for a license to marry, the license-
issuing officer shall deliver to each prospective spouse, either in person or by registered mail,
a printed summary of the current matrimonial regime laws of this state and the covenant
marriage law of this state, and that the summaries shall be prepared by the attorney general
of this state.
Existing law requires that the summary emphasize the possibility of contracting expressly
a regime of one's choosing before marriage, that spouses who have not entered into a
matrimonial agreement before marriage become subject to the legal regime by operation of
law, and the possibility of contracting after marriage to modify the matrimonial regime.
Existing law requires that the summary of covenant marriage law shall emphasize that
premarital counseling is mandatory, that the couple agrees to take all reasonable steps to
preserve the marriage, including marriage counseling, that divorce in a covenant marriage
is restricted to fault by a spouse and living separate and apart for two years as provided in
R.S. 9:307, and that divorce under the general marriage law of this state differs significantly.
New law retains existing law and requires the summary to emphasize that expenses for
additional legal and marital counseling may be incurred by a couple in order to obtain a legal
termination of a covenant marriage.
Effective Aug. 1, 2014.
(Amends R.S. 9:237(C))