Joint Custody:

 Divorced Parents Raising their Children Together

          Joint Custody agreements permit both parents to share in the decision-making affecting their children, and to share in the parenting time.  Such a plan allows both parents to remain a considerable force in a child’s life.  In general, New York Courts are reluctant to award joint custody, however, parties to a divorce can agree on a joint custody arrangement.

"Parental conflict is often enhanced by the adversary nature of child custody litigation. In order to protect the best interests of children and to protect the rights of parents, child custody courts must realize that parental conflict ebbs and flows over time.  The role of the child custody court must be more than declaring the family dead.  It needs to be a facilitator of the reorganization of the family. Moreover, courts need to recognize that it is in the best interests of the children of this nation to preserve family bonds when parents are willing and capable of assuming responsibility for their parenting roles."¹  

Selected quote from  A New York case On Joint Custody

"It is understandable, therefore, that joint custody is encouraged primarily as a voluntary alternative for relatively stable, amicable parents behaving in mature civilized fashion"  Braiman v. Braiman, 378 N.E.2d 1019 (N.Y. 1978).²  

1.     James W. Bozzomo, Joint Legal Custody: a parent’s constitutional right in a reorganized family. 31 Hofstra L. Rev. 547 (2002) (footnotes, quotations and citations omitted).  See Andrew Schepard, The Evolving Judicial Role in Child Custody Disputes: From Fault Finder to Conflict Manager to Differential Case Management, 22 U. ARK. LITTLE ROCK L. REV. 395 (2000).

2.     Braiman v. Braiman, 378 N.E.2d 1019 (N.Y. 1978).