Child Custody Arrangements Essay

Child custody arrangements in the United States have gone through many ups, downs, and changes throughout the course of time. In 1839, England enacted the Custody of Infants Act, allowing a judge to make decisions in custody cases (Kelly, 1994). In 1873, Parliament created the Tender Years Doctrine, which permitted a mother to petition the court for custody of her children up to age 16 (Kelly, 1994). This law was adopted by many U.S. states and governed for the next century (Kelly, 1994).

After divorce rates began to rise in the 1960s, the Tender Years Doctrine was replaced with the best interest of the child standard (Kelly, 1994). This new standard granted judges an astonishing level of judgment with determining custody according to the child’s best interests (Kelly, 1994). The best interest standard led to many bitter custody battles and ultimately the birth of joint custody came about (Kelly, 1994). In 1979, California passed the first statue for joint custody and by 1991 more than 40 states had adopted their own statutes with joint custody as an option (Kelly, 1994).

Child custody arrangements have evolved over the years by leaps and bounds. In the 1800s women and children were looked at as the man’s property. So when women were

Obviously when we are speaking about a gay couple there is no way for a child to be biologically related to both parents. This has sparked much outrage to the changes of child custody laws. Societal changes like gay marriage influence legal custodian arrangements because now some states have adopted laws that help both parents in a gay marriage should they require the need to fight over custody of a child (Kelly, 1994). It is no longer established that a family is a mother, father, and child, and this would have never changed without the legalization of gay