In the last 30 years, courts have increasingly encouraged and supported mutual agreements of shared parental custody. Dads who wanted to share custody of their children almost never received this verdict in the past. Courts sided almost always with the mothers, awarding them full custody. But now, this is far from the case.

There are two types of child custody. Legal custody controls decisions around a child’s well being, such as education, religion and health care, and there’s physical or residential custody. Although divorce laws vary by each state, courts today start with a presumption of joint legal custody, and are open to and encouraging of shared residential custody. Equal splits of residential custody are uncommon for logistical reasons, since shuttling a child back and forth on school nights is hard for working parents, and residential custody does still split in favor of the mother.

However, times are changing and joint custody is at an all time rise. For more information about joint custody,  read the full article by Aaron Stern on Fatherly.

Learn more about why joint custody is more likely than it used to be by contacting David Veliz at Veliz Katz Law.