Is joint custody a new phenomenon?

Answer 1

No, although it was rare in the past. Divorced families in times past sometimes worked out arrangements that were equivalent to modern joint custody (Ricci, 1981). For example, the Maryland Court of Appeals considered a case in 1934 in which the child had approximately equal time with each parent, although the term joint custody had not yet been invented. Joint custody began to increase in the late 1960s and 1970s, as courts found maternal preference laws to violate the 14th Amendment guarantee of equal protection under the law (Roth, 1976). [This answer was excerpted from "Questions and Answers About Joint Custody" by Rick Kuhn.] References: Ricci, I., Mom's House, Dad's House. Macmillan, 1981. Roth, A. The tender years presumption in child custody disputes. Journal of Family Law, Vol. 15, 1976.