My partner and I live in New Orleans and we want to adopt a child. We are not married but have been together over 10 years. We own a home together and generally behave as a married couple. We have not formally married because we were both married before and had bad experiences with divorce. We are committed to one another and see no reason for a formal wedding. We want to expand our family by adopting and want to know whether our marital status will impact our ability to adopt here. Do we have to be formally married to adopt in New Orleans? Is there common law marriage in Louisiana that would be sufficient to satisfy any marriage requirement?
