Missouri is the most recent state considering a change the way courts look at parental custody for kids. At the Capitol, legislation is bring proposed that would make shared parenting the norm for families in joint custody cases.
Right now, when courts look at divorce or separation cases, a decision as to who will have primary custody of the child is usually made. However, with recently published research showing that shared custody results in positive effects for child development and child-parent relationships, more states are revisiting these standards.