Alternating custody: how do you go about it?

Alternating custody: how do you go about it?

"I've been separated from my wife for several years. When we separated, I was awarded custody of my son. Despite the good relationship with my wife, we still want to divorce and ask for alternating custody, so how do we go about it?

Thierry, Vaud

As a rule, in a divorce, the judge awards parental authority to one of the parents and determines the personal relationship between the child and the other parent. In doing so, the judge takes into account all the circumstances that are important for the child's welfare. If it takes into consideration a possible joint request by the parents, it is not bound by the facts alleged by the parties or admitted by them, or by the evidence they adduce. Nor is he bound by their submissions, and will rule even if they do not. It will take the necessary steps, particularly with regard to evidence, to ensure that its decision is in the child's best interests.

However, at the joint request of the father and mother, the judge may maintain the joint exercise of parental authority, provided that this is compatible with the welfare of the child and that the parents submit for ratification an agreement determining their participation in the child's care and the sharing of the child's maintenance costs.

Alternating or shared custody is part of joint parental authority, the terms of which are set out in the agreement. The parents share custody of the child on an alternating basis for more or less equal periods, which may be fixed in days, weeks or months.

The courts are very strict about the conditions for ratifying such agreements. Their admissibility is assessed from the point of view of the child's welfare and essentially depends on the circumstances of the particular case, such as the child's age, the proximity of the parental homes to each other and to the school, the parents' ability to cooperate, the division of tasks during life together, the child's stability, and the parents' ability to provide accommodation. Depending on the child's age, the judge will take the child's opinion into account and ensure that the child is not separated from his or her brothers and sisters. Moreover, under the principle of unicity of domicile, the parents must agree on the child's legal domicile with one of them.

For such a solution to be implemented in practice, the parents must demonstrate sufficient maturity to place the good of the child above their own conflicting interests. The principle of alternating custody also implies sufficient understanding between the father and mother and the ability to maintain a constant dialogue between them on all matters relating to the child, particularly his or her education. Finally, alternating custody requires good organisational and planning skills, flexibility and sufficient availability on the part of both parents.