Child custody trends creating more single-dad homes

If Wisconsin men follow the national trend, more fathers than ever before are stepping up as single dads. Family law courts used to almost automatically award child custody to the mother. However, the percentage of households with minor children headed by single men rose from one percent to eight percent between 1960 and 2011, according to a recent study conducted by Pew Research Center. Translated into numbers of households, this shows fewer than 300,000 growing to more than 2.6 million.

Analysts credit the trend to the ever-rising U.S. divorce rate, as the percentage of single mothers heading households has also increased over that period, as well as the fact that fewer parents are marrying before children were born or even not getting married at all. Another factor in the growth of the single-dad household is that society no longer looks on a father raising children alone as unusual.

Reflecting this change in societal norms, more states are moving away from favoring the mother in custody disputes and toward shared parenting. In the past, legal custody was often shared by both parents, but physical custody was much more frequently given to the mother. Under this new paradigm, states including Minnesota, Iowa and Oregon favor a 50/50 split of physical custody. Whether a cause or an effect of the shared parenting trend, more dads are believing that they have important contributions to make as a part of their children’s lives.

In a child custody dispute, family courts will most often rule in the best interests of the child or children. However, each state may have its own definition of “best interests,” and judges will adjust their rulings according to the particulars of each case.

Source: The Atlantic, “The Rise of the Single Dad“, Caroline Kitchener, February 24, 2014