New Family Law Statutes in 2021: Selected State Legislation New York Law School Family Law Quarterly Editors

• Date: 01 December 2021
• Author: Edited by Carolina Abdullah, April Pacis, and Lisa F. Grumet

Charts 2020 359

Statute(s)

Statutory

List of

“Best

Interest”

Factors

Joint Legal

Custody

Presumption

Domestic

Violence

Presumption

More Than

Two Parents

Statute Notes

Kentucky

ky. rev. stat. ann.

§§ 403.270, 403.315

Yes Ye s No No

Louisiana

la. Civ. Code ann. arts. 131,

132, 134; la. stat. ann.

§§ 9:335, 9:364

Yes No Ye s No

Maine

me. stat. tit. 19-A, §§ 1653,

1851, 1853

Yes No No Ye s

Maryland

md. Code ann., Fam. law

§§ 5-203, 9-101.1

No No No No

Massachusetts

mass. Gen. laws ch. 208,

§§ 31, 31A

No No Yes No

Michigan

miCh. Comp. laws §§ 722.23,

722.25, 722.26a, 722.27a

Yes No No No

Minnesota

minn. stat. §§ 518.17*,

518.175, 518.179

Yes Yes* Yes No *Presumption applies if joint custody requested by “either or

both parties.”

Mississippi

miss. Code ann. § 93-5-24*

No Yes* Yes No *Presumption applies when the parents agree to joint custody.

Chart 2: Child Custody Statutes in 2020 (continued)

Published in Family Law Quarterly, Volume 54, Number 4, 2021. © 2021 American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof may

not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.

360 Family Law Quarterly, Volume 54, Number 4, 2021

Statute(s)

Statutory

List of

“Best

Interest”

Factors

Joint Legal

Custody

Presumption

Domestic

Violence

Presumption

More Than

Two Parents

Statute Notes

Missouri

mo. rev. stat. § 452.375

Yes No No No

Montana

mont. Code ann. §§ 40-4-212,

40-4-234

Yes No No No

Nebraska

neb. rev. stat. §§ 42-364,

43-2923, 43-2929, 43-2932*

Yes No Yes* No *Doesn’t say “presumption,” but burden shifts to parent

to prove “that legal or physical custody, parenting time,

visitation, or other access to that parent will not endanger the

child or the other parent.”

Nevada

nev. rev. stat. §§ 125c.0015,

125c.002, 125c.0025, 125c.003,

125c.0035

Yes Ye s Ye s No

New Hampshire

n.h. rev. stat. ann.

§§ 461-A:5, 461-A:6

Yes Ye s No No

New Jersey

n.J. stat. ann. §§ 9:2-4, 9:2-4a

Yes No No No

New Mexico

n.m. stat. ann. §§ 40-4-9,

40-4-9.1

Yes Ye s No No

New York

n.y. dom. rel. law §§ 70,

240; n.y. Fam. Ct. aCt § 651

No No No No

Chart 2: Child Custody Statutes in 2020 (continued)

Published in Family Law Quarterly, Volume 54, Number 4, 2021. © 2021 American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof may

not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.

Charts 2020 361

Statute(s)

Statutory

List of

“Best

Interest”

Factors

Joint Legal

Custody

Presumption

Domestic

Violence

Presumption

More Than

Two Parents

Statute Notes

North Carolina

n.C. Gen. stat. §§ 50-13.2,

50B-3

No No No No

North Dakota

n.d. Cent. Code

§§ 14-09-06.2, 14-09-29,

14-09-31

Yes No Ye s No

Ohio

ohio rev. Code ann.

§ 3109.04

Yes No No No

Oklahoma

okla. stat. tit. 43, §§ 109,

109.3, 110.1, 112, 112.2, 112.5

No No Ye s No

Oregon

or. rev. stat. §§ 107.105,

107.137, 107.169, 109.119

Yes No Ye s Yes

Pennsylvania

23 pa. Cons. stat. §§ 5323,

5327, 5328, 5329

Yes No No No

Puerto Rico

P.R. laws ann. tit. 31, § 383;

tit. 32, §§ 3181, 3182, 3185,

3186, 3187

Yes No No No

Chart 2: Child Custody Statutes in 2020 (continued)

Published in Family Law Quarterly, Volume 54, Number 4, 2021. © 2021 American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof may

not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.