The Growth in Shared Custody in the United States: Patterns and Implications

We document the dramatic decline in the United States of mother sole custody arrangements following divorce. Our empirical analysis uses Wisconsin court records data spanning more than two decades (1988–2010). Updating earlier analyses that showed significant increases in shared custody, we estimate that shared custody (where children spend at least 25% of time with each parent) has now replaced sole‐mother custody as the most common post‐divorce parenting arrangement—accounting for just over half (50.3%) of all cases in the most recent cohort available. We discuss the institutional context for these changes in custody in the United States, the sociodemographic factors associated with custody outcomes, and the implications for policy and practice.