Also known as: shared-parenting · joint custody · co-parenting
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An arrangement under which separated or divorced parents cooperate in raising their child by sharing both physical time with the child and authority over major decisions such as education and health care.
Spencer Silver and Sydney Santos separated after their daughter was born. The longtime nanny, Stella Shapiro, had provided daily care for years. When the parents could not agree on schooling, Stella petitioned for custody. The court awarded joint custody to Stella and Sydney under the statute permitting such an order to a nonparent and a parent.
Simon Stern and Samantha Stone divorced and agreed their son would live half the week with each parent. The court entered an order confirming that the schedule created shared physical custody. Under the statute custody includes both physical and legal components and expressly covers shared arrangements.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
After their divorce Skylar Sullivan and Stella Shapiro submitted a shared parenting plan that divided the children's time equally and assigned joint decision-making. The court approved the plan and designated each parent as residential parent on alternate weeks. The arrangement allowed both parents continued involvement in daily routines and major choices.
Sydney Santos and Spencer Silver maintained a shared parenting schedule across state lines after their separation. When one parent sought to relocate the child unilaterally, the other invoked the existing joint arrangement. The court treated the shared schedule as establishing enforceable custodial rights that limited unilateral changes.
Samantha Stone and Simon Stern litigated custody after their divorce. The court found that a shared parenting plan would better preserve each parent's relationship with the children than awarding sole custody to one parent. The final order allocated nearly equal time and joint legal authority.
Stella Shapiro and Skylar Sullivan divorced while living abroad. Their shared parenting order granted each parent alternating periods of physical custody and joint authority over schooling. When one parent removed the child to another country, the other relied on the shared arrangement to seek return of the child.
Shared parenting divides both physical time and major decision-making between the parents. Sole custody concentrates physical residence and legal authority in one parent. Courts may still order shared parenting even when parents disagree on some child-rearing issues.
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Yes. Section 14(a)(2) expressly permits a court to award joint custody to a nonparent and a parent when the nonparent seeks custody. The definition of custody in section 2(4) includes shared custody.
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No. Shared parenting requires cooperation in child-rearing and may involve substantial but not necessarily equal time. Some state statutes use the term to encourage maximum time with each parent while still allowing flexible schedules.
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A court may modify shared parenting upon a showing of a substantial and continuing change in circumstances that affects the child's best interests. Mere disagreement between parents or a new romantic relationship does not automatically justify modification.
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…to be consistent with the Due Process Clause. Caban involved the conflicting claims of two natural parents who had maintained joint custody of their children from the time of their birth until they were respectively two and four years old. The father challenged the validity of an order authorizing the mother's new husband to…