Going through a divorce is always an emotional and difficult process, but when kids are involved in a divorce, the situation is even more sensitive. Parents want the best for their children and debate as to which parent is best suited to provide for a child can and does happen. Minnesota couples making the decision to get divorced may soon see a change in the way child custody is determined in court.
The Child's Equal and Shared Parenting Act, introduced in the Minnesota House of Representatives, seeks to create a more equitable process for determining custody arrangements. In the case of most divorces, both parents would be awarded joint physical custody under the proposed law, which means that children would spend at least 45.1 percent of their time with each parent's residence. Exceptions would be granted in the instances when child abuse or domestic violence is involved.
Proponents of this reform say it is in a child's best interest to spend a significant amount of time with both parents. They also say that this grants more rights to fathers, since current child custody laws were created when men were responsible for earning the primary income, rather than spending a considerable amount of time parenting.
Under current law, judges are handed the responsibility of arranging child custody when a dispute arises. A long list of factors goes into determining how much time a child will spend with each of their parents. This is why some critics say this proposed reform is "too simplistic" and does not address the full complexity of most divorce cases.
However efforts to reform child custody laws turn out, it must be remembered that the welfare of the children is the most important factor in determining custody. Certainly, children benefit from spending time with both of their parents, but no two families have identical situations. In other words, determining child custody is a complex process, and always will be.
Source: Minnesota Lawyer, "2012 Session: Child custody fight headed to St. Paul," Patrick Thornton, Jan. 20, 2012
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