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A bill moving through Legislature seeks to change child custody rights. The bill would require Minnesota courts to assume the best living situation for the children of divorced parents is split custody where the default used to be custody for the mother with bi-weekly visitation for the father.
Minnesota courts have historically been against the shared physical custody of children of divorced parents.
The Proposal
The courts used to essentially operate on the premise that the mother would get custody unless it was proven that another arrangement would be more beneficial. If the bill passes into law, Minnesota courts would start with the premise that unless proven otherwise, the child’s interests would best be served by split custody.
Sen. Tom Neuville (R-Northfield) said that the courts have held the position for too long that the best option for a child of divorced parents is to live solely with the mother and visits the father every second weekend. This has sent fathers the message that they are less of parents, said Neuville.
“There’s been a cultural expectation that mothers are always best suited. Until we change some of those presumptions, I think a lot of kids are missing out on relationships with their father,” said Neuville.
Exceptions
“The proposed legislation here is very careful to say that something like domestic abuse or prior abuse of a child is a very good reason not to have a setup like this. And there may be other reasons,” says Brian Bix, university of Minnesota Law Professor.
“But on the whole, unless a judge is willing to put on paper and be reviewed by an appellate court, the judge must come up with some form of joint physical custody.”
Change in Fathers’ Expectations
Barbara Aaby, head of the child custody section for the American Bar Association, said, “Overwhelmingly, when dads come to retain me, their expectation is that they be involved to the point that they have 50/50 parenting time and 50/50 legal custody,” says Aaby. “That doesn’t mean it’s right every time, but it does suggest that something fundamentally has shifted in how men regard their roles,” said Aaby.
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