Custody in Pennsylvania.

Decisions against where the child lives

23 Pa.C.S. sec. 5322(a). 'Legal custody' is 'the right to make major decisions on behalf of the child, including, but not limited to, medical, religious and educational decisions.' 'Physical custody' is 'the actual physical possession and control of a child.' 'Primary physical custody' is the right to physical custody for the majority of time; 'partial physical custody' is for less than a majority; 'shared physical custody' is 'the right of more than one individual to assume physical custody of the child, each having significant periods of physical custodial time with the child.' Note 'significant periods,' not 'equal periods' – shared physical custody in Pennsylvania does not mean 50/50.

What the judge must weigh

§ 5328. Factors to consider when awarding custody. (a) Factors.–In ordering any form of custody, the court shall determine the best interest of the child by considering all relevant factors, giving substantial weighted consideration to the factors specified under paragraphs (1), (2), (2.1) and (2.2) which affect the safety of the child, including the following:

1. (1) Which party is more likely to ensure the safety of the child.
2. (2) The present and past abuse committed by a party or member of the party's household, which may include past or current protection from abuse or sexual violence protection orders where there has been a finding of abuse.
3. (2.1) The information set forth in section 5329.1(a) (relating to consideration of child abuse and involvement with protective services).
4. (2.2) Violent or assaultive behavior committed by a party.
5. (2.3) The level of cooperation and conflict between the parties, including:
6. (2.3)(i) which party is more likely to encourage and permit frequent and continuing contact between the child and the other party or parties if contact is consistent with the safety needs of the child; and
7. (2.3)(ii) the attempts by a party to turn the child against the other party, except in cases of abuse where reasonable safety measures are necessary to protect the safety of the child. A party's good faith and reasonable effort to protect the safety of a child or self shall not be considered evidence of unwillingness or inability to cooperate with the other party. A party's reasonable concerns for the safety of the child and the party's reasonable efforts to protect the child shall not be considered attempts to turn the child against the other party. A child's deficient or negative relationship with a party shall not be presumed to be caused by the other party.
8. (3) A willingness and ability of a party to prioritize the needs of the child by providing appropriate care, stability and continuity for the child, considering the parental duties performed by the party on behalf of the child in the past and whether the party is willing and able to perform the duties in the future, and attend to the daily physical, emotional, developmental, educational and special needs of the child.
9. (4) The need for stability and continuity in the child's education, family life and community life, except if changes are necessary to protect the safety of the child or a party.
10. (5) (Deleted by amendment).
11. (6) The child's sibling and other familial relationships.
12. (7) The well-reasoned preference of the child, based on the child's developmental stage, maturity and judgment.
13. (8) (Deleted by amendment).
14. (9) (Deleted by amendment).
15. (10) (Deleted by amendment).
16. (11) The proximity of the residences of the parties.
17. (12) Each party's employment schedule and availability to care for the child or ability to make appropriate child-care arrangements.
18. (13) (Deleted by amendment).
19. (14) The history of drug or alcohol abuse of a party or member of a party's household.
20. (15) The mental and physical condition of a party or member of a party's household.
21. (16) Any other relevant factor.

(a.1) Exception.–A factor under subsection (a) shall not be adversely weighed against a party if the circumstances related to the factor were in response to abuse or necessary to protect the child or the abused party from harm and the party alleging abuse does not pose a risk to the safety of the child at the time of the custody hearing. Temporary housing instability as a result of abuse shall not be considered against the party alleging abuse.

(a.2) Determination.–No single factor under subsection (a) shall by itself be determinative in the awarding of custody. The court shall examine the totality of the circumstances, giving weighted consideration to the factors that affect the safety of the child, when issuing a custody order that is in the best interest of the child.

Recently changed. Pennsylvania rewrote this list twice in two years: Act 8 of 2024 (effective 13 August 2024) and Act 11 of 2025 (effective 29 August 2025). Act 11 deleted five factors outright — (5), (8), (9), (10) and (13) — and the statute still prints them as “(Deleted by amendment).” That is the official text, not an omission here. Act 11 also added subsection (d), requiring the court to give every party a copy of section 5328 within 30 days.

What the child wants

No age. 23 Pa.C.S. sec. 5328(a)(7): 'The well-reasoned preference of the child, based on the child's developmental stage, maturity and judgment.' Note what the statute asks for – not just what the child wants, but whether the preference is well-reasoned. How a child is heard is governed by Pa.R.C.P. No. 1915.11 (appointing a child's attorney, child interviews, and a child attending proceedings).

Where there has been violence or abuse

Pennsylvania has no flat presumption, but the 2024-2025 amendments pushed safety to the front of the analysis. Sec. 5328(a) requires 'substantial weighted consideration' to the four safety factors – who is more likely to ensure the child's safety, present and past abuse by a party or household member, child abuse and protective-services information under sec. 5329.1, and violent or assaultive behavior. Sec. 5323(e) is the operative safeguard: after considering secs. 5328, 5329 (criminal conviction), 5329.1 (child abuse) and 5330 (criminal charge), if the court finds a history of abuse of the child or a household member by a party, or a household member of a party, or a present risk of harm to the child or an abused party, and still awards any form of custody to that party, the order MUST include the safety conditions, restrictions or safeguards reasonably necessary to protect the child or the abused party; the reason for imposing them and why they are in the best interest of the child or the abused party; and 'the reasons why unsupervised physical custody is in the best interest of the child if the court finds that past abuse was committed by a party.' Available safeguards include nonprofessional and professional supervised physical custody – the professional supervisor must have education and training on the dynamics of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, trauma and the impact of domestic violence on children (sec. 5322(a)) – and limits on the time of day and number of hours. Sec. 5328(a.1) protects a survivor from having safety-driven conduct or abuse-caused housing instability held against them.

The parenting plan

No – it is discretionary. 23 Pa.C.S. sec. 5331(a): 'In a contested custody proceeding, the court MAY require the parties to submit parenting plans for the care and custody of the child to aid the court in resolving the custody dispute.' There is a protection built in: 'A parenting plan and the position of a party as set forth in that parenting plan shall not be admissible as evidence by another party.' Sec. 5331(b) sets the contents – the schedule for personal care and control including parenting time, holidays and vacations; education and religious involvement; health care; child-care arrangements; transportation arrangements; a procedure for adjudicating or resolving proposed changes, disputes and alleged breaches through mediation, arbitration or other means; any matter specified by the court; and any other matter that serves the child's best interest. Sec. 5331(c) sets out the form itself, printed in the statute, for use when the court orders a plan.

Mediation

No, and the domestic-violence bar is unusually strict. Pa.R.C.P. No. 1940.3(a): 'the court MAY order the parties to attend an orientation session at any time upon motion by a party, stipulation of the parties, or the court's own initiative.' Rule 1940.3(b): 'The court MAY NOT order an orientation session if a party or a child of either party is or has been the subject of domestic violence or child abuse either during the pendency of the action or within 24 months preceding the filing of the action.' Rule 1940.3(c): only 'following the orientation session and with the consent of the parties' may the court refer the parties to mediation. Rule 1940.2 also restricts who may be present – participants are limited to the parties, and non-parties including children, grandparents and the parties' attorneys generally may not participate. Rule 1940.6(a)(4) requires the mediator to terminate mediation found inappropriate, and the mediator has a continuing duty to screen for abuse. Separately, Pa.R.C.P. No. 1915.4-2 provides for an office conference in partial custody actions, and No. 1915.4-3 for non-record proceedings – many counties route every custody case through a conciliation conference first.

If the court appoints someone to look into it

23 Pa.C.S. sec. 5334 governs guardians ad litem: the court may appoint one on its own motion or a party's, the GAL must be an attorney, and 'the court may assess the cost upon the parties or any of them or as otherwise provided by law.' The GAL must meet with the child if appropriate to age and maturity and regularly thereafter, get timely access to court records, examination reports and medical, psychological and school records, participate in all proceedings, investigate, interview witnesses including parents and caretakers, examine and cross-examine witnesses, make specific written recommendations that become part of the record (with the parties able to file written comments that also become part of the record), explain the proceedings to the child, and advise the court of the child's wishes to the extent they can be ascertained – and a difference between the child's wishes and the GAL's recommendation is not treated as a conflict of interest. Expert examinations are ordered under Pa.R.C.P. No. 1915.8 (physical and mental examination of persons) using the form order at Pa.R.C.P. No. 1915.18. A child's attorney is appointed under Pa.R.C.P. No. 1915.11 with the form order at No. 1915.19.

Changing the order

This is where Pennsylvania is genuinely different from most states. 23 Pa.C.S. sec. 5338(a): 'Upon petition, a court may modify a custody order to serve the best interest of the child.' That is the whole test. There is no requirement to prove a substantial change in circumstances, and there is no waiting period after the last order. The form of a modification petition is at Pa.R.C.P. No. 1915.15. Because filing is easy, sec. 5328(d) requires the court to send every party a copy of the custody-factors statute within 30 days of receiving a modification petition.

If you were never married

Pennsylvania puts a parent on the same footing regardless of marriage. 23 Pa.C.S. sec. 5324(1): 'A parent of the child' may file an action for any form of physical custody or legal custody. There is no separate track, no separate statute and no marriage requirement in Chapter 53. What an unmarried father does need is to be a legal parent – paternity established by a voluntary acknowledgment or a court order. Sec. 5324 also gives standing to a person who stands in loco parentis, and to certain grandparents who meet the conditions in sec. 5324(3).