Custody

A judge will make a decision about custody based on what s/he thinks is in your child’s best interest.¹ The judge will look at any factor that s/he thinks is important to make this decision including, but not limited to:

• the child’s physical, emotional, cultural, spiritual, and other needs;
• the effect of the proposed custody arrangements on the child’s needs and development;
• any special medical, mental health, developmental disability, or educational needs that the child may have that may require special parenting arrangements or access to recommended services;
• the reasonable preference of the child, if the judge believes that the child has sufficient ability, age, and maturity to express an “independent, reliable preference;”
• if domestic abuse has occurred in either parent’s household or relationship:
  • the nature and context of the domestic abuse; and
  • the effect of the domestic abuse on:
    • the abuser’s parenting abilities; and
    • the child’s safety, well-being, and developmental needs;
• any physical, mental, or chemical health issue of a parent that affects the child’s safety or developmental needs;
• the history and nature of each parent’s participation in caring for the child;
• the willingness and ability of each parent to:
  • provide ongoing care for the child;
  • meet the child’s ongoing developmental, emotional, spiritual, and cultural needs; 
  • be consistent and follow through with parenting time;
  • cooperate in raising the child;
  • maximize the sharing of information;
  • reduce exposure of the child to parental conflict; and
  • use methods for resolving disputes about any major decision  in the child’s life;
• the effect of changes to the child’s home, school, and community on the child’s well-being and development;
• the effect of the proposed custody arrangements on the ongoing relationships between the child and each parent, siblings, and other significant people in the child’s life;
• the benefit to the child in maximizing parenting time with both parents;
• the harm to the child in limiting parenting time with either parent;
• except in cases in which domestic abuse has occurred, the willingness of each parent to support the child’s relationship with the other parent and to encourage and allow frequent and continuing contact between them;² and
• whether or not a parent violated the criminal law against falsely reporting child abuse.³

Note: The judge is not supposed to consider the following things when determining the child’s best interests for custody and parenting time:

1. the acts and behavior of a parent that do not affect the parent’s relationship with the child;⁴
2. if a parent is in the military, the parent’s past deployment or possible future deployment;⁵
3. the gender of each parent;⁶
4. whether the parents were ever married to each other;⁷ and
5. a parent’s failure to pay support because of the parent’s inability to do so.⁸ 

If you or your child has a disability, see If I or my child has a disability, will that affect the judge’s decision?

¹ Minn. Stat. § 257.025(a)
² Minn. Stat. §§ 257.025(a); 518.17(1)(a)
³ Minn. Stat. § 518.17(1)(b)(6)
⁴ Minn. Stat. § 518.17(1)(b)(4)
⁵ Minn. Stat. § 518.17(1)(c)
⁶ Minn. Stat. § 518.17(1)(b)(2)
⁷ Minn. Stat. § 257.025(b)
⁸ Minn. Stat. § 518.175(1)(c)

If either you or your child has a disability, this is something the judge can consider but it cannot be the only factor that determines which parent should get custody.¹

If you have a disability, the judge is not allowed to deny or restrict parenting time or custody based on this. If the other parent claims that your disability is a reason to change custody or your parenting time, s/he must convince the judge that specific behaviors of yours during parenting time would endanger the health or safety of the child. You can then show the judge that supportive parenting services would fix those issues. The judge can require you to use supportive parenting services for your parenting time.² 

If the judge denies or limits your custody or parenting time based on your disability, the judge is required to issue a written order with specific reasons (findings) explaining the decision and why supportive parenting services cannot fix the issue.³  

¹ Minn. Stat. § 518.17(1)(b)(5)
² Minn. Stat. § 518.17(2a)(a)
³ Minn. Stat. § 518.17(2a)(b)