Minnesota Child Custody Laws

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When a couple divorces and there is a minor child involved, the divorce decree will specify who has physical custody as well as legal custody of the child. Physical custody determines where and with whom the child will live. Legal custody specifies who has the legal right to make important decisions about the child related to issues such as education, religion, medical issues, and discipline. Spouses often reach an agreement regarding child custody on their own, but if they do not, a Minnesota court will intervene and establish custody arrangements based on the best interests of the child. For a summary of child custody laws in Minnesota, go to divorcesource.com.

 

There are typically several different custody arrangements that may be made for children of divorced parents. In most cases, courts will award physical custody to one parent with whom the child will live most of the time. The parent with physical custody, or the custodial parent, often shares legal custody, or the right to make decisions regarding the child, with the non-custodial parent. Many child custody arrangements involve joint custody in which the child spends a relatively equal amount of time with each parent.

 

According to Minnesota law, some of the most common standards applied when making child custody decisions include the following:

 

  • The wishes of the parents
  • The reasonable preference of the child if he or she is of a sufficient age
  • The child's primary caretaker
  • The intimacy of the relationship between each parent and the child
  • The interaction and interrelationship of the child with the parents, siblings, and any other person who may significantly affect the child's best interests
  • The child's adjustment to his or her home, school, and community
  • How long the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory environment and the desirability of maintaining continuity
  • The permanence as a family unit of the existing or proposed custodial home
  • The mental and physical health of all individuals involved
  • The capacity and disposition of the parties to give the child love, affection, and guidance and to continue educating and raising the child in the child's culture, religion, or creed, if any
  • The child's cultural background
  • The effect that the actions of an abuser have on the child if the actions are related to domestic abuse that occurred between the parents or between a parent and another individual, and whether or not the individual alleged to have committed the domestic abuse is or ever was a family or household member of the parent
  • Whether either party has made false allegations of child abuse against the other

 

According to lawyers.com, Minnesota courts do not consider parental misconduct when determining custody unless it affects the relationship with the child. If joint custody is sought, courts take the following things into consideration: the ability of the parents to cooperate in the rearing of the child; the methods for resolving disputes regarding major decisions in the child's life, and the parents' willingness to use those methods; whether it would be detrimental to the child if one parent were to have sole authority over the child's upbringing; and whether domestic abuse has occurred between the parents.