Requires court to consider additional factors in awarding custody of child.

A1094

ASSEMBLY, No. 1094

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman ROBERT D. CLIFTON

District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires court to consider additional factors in
awarding custody of child.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act
concerning custody determinations of a child and
amending Title 9 of the Revised Statutes.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� R.S.9:2-4 is amended to
read as follows:

���� 9:2-4.� The Legislature finds
and declares that it is in the public policy of this State to assure minor
children of frequent and continuing contact with both parents after the parents
have separated or dissolved their marriage and that it is in the public
interest to encourage parents to share the rights and responsibilities of child
rearing in order to effect this policy.

���� In any proceeding involving
the custody of a minor child, the rights of both parents shall be equal and the
court shall enter an order which may include:

���� a.���� Joint custody of a
minor child to both parents, which is comprised of legal custody or physical
custody which shall include:

���� (1) provisions for residential
arrangements so that a child shall reside either solely with one parent or
alternatively with each parent in accordance with the needs of the parents and
the child; and

���� (2) provisions for
consultation between the parents in making major decisions regarding the
child's health, education and general welfare;

���� b.��� Sole custody to one
parent with appropriate parenting time for the noncustodial parent; or

���� c.���� Any other custody
arrangement as the court may determine to be in the best interests of the
child.

���� In making an award of custody,
the court shall consider but not be limited to the following factors:

���� the parents' ability to agree,
communicate and cooperate in matters relating to the child;

���� the parents' willingness to
accept custody and any history of unwillingness to allow parenting time not
based on substantiated abuse;

���� the interaction and
relationship of the child with its parents and siblings; the history of
domestic violence, if any;

����
the history of abuse,
abandonment, or neglect as defined in R.S.9:6-1, if any;

����
any evidence that either
parent has or is engaging in a pattern of abusive, threatening, intimidating,
or controlling behavior composed of a series of acts over a period of time,
however short;

���� the safety of the child and
the safety of either parent from physical abuse by the other parent;

���� the preference of the child
when of sufficient age and capacity to reason so as to form an intelligent
decision;

���� the needs of the child; the
stability of the home environment offered;

���� the quality and continuity of
the child's education;

���� the fitness of the parents;

���� the geographical proximity of
the parents' homes;

���� the extent and quality of the
time spent with the child prior to or subsequent to the separation; the
parents' employment responsibilities; and

���� the age and number of the
children.�

���� A parent shall not be deemed
unfit unless the parents' conduct has a substantial adverse effect on the
child.

���� The court, for good cause and
upon its own motion, may appoint a guardian ad litem or an attorney or both to
represent the minor child's interests.� The court shall have the authority to
award a counsel fee to the guardian ad litem and the attorney and to assess
that cost between the parties to the litigation.

���� d.��� The court shall order
any custody arrangement which is agreed to by both parents unless it is
contrary to the best interests of the child.

���� e.���� In any case in which
the parents cannot agree to a custody arrangement, the court may require each
parent to submit a custody plan which the court shall consider in awarding
custody.

���� f.���� The court shall
specifically place on the record the factors which justify any custody
arrangement not agreed to by both parents

(cf: P.L.1997, c.299, s.9)

���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill expands the factors
a court may consider when making an award for custody of a child.

���� Under the bill, the court
would consider the history of abuse, abandonment, or neglect, if any; and any
evidence that either parent has engaged or is engaging in a pattern of abusive,
threatening, intimidating, or controlling behavior composed of a series of acts
over a period of time, however short.