Divorce in Delaware

In Delaware, the court will make legal child custody and residential arrangements for a child based upon what is in the best interests of the child. In determining the best interests of the child, the court considers all relevant factors including:

• The wishes of the child's parent or parents
• The wishes of the child as to his or her custodian and residential arrangements
• The child's interaction with family members
• The child's adjustment to his or her home, school and community
• The mental and physical health of all individuals involved
• Past and present compliance by both parents with their rights and responsibilities to their child
• Evidence of domestic violence
• Criminal history of any party or any other resident of the household

The court determines whether the parents will have joint legal custody of the child or one of them will have sole legal custody of the child, with which parent the child shall primarily reside and a schedule of visitation with the other parent, which is consistent with the child's best interests and maturity. The court makes these decisions to permit and encourage the child to have frequent and meaningful contact with both parents unless it finds, after a hearing, that contact of the child with one parent would endanger the child's physical health or significantly impair his or her emotional development.

Under Delaware law, whether parents have joint legal custody or one parent has sole legal custody of a child, each parent has the right to receive, when requested from the other parent, all material information concerning the child's progress in school, medical treatment, school activities and conferences, religious events and other activities in which the child participates. Both parents have a right to attend all these activities. Both parents also have the right to access to the child by phone and mail.

A child custody order may be modified only if an application for modification is filed within two years after the court's most recent order regarding custody and the court determines that the continuing enforcement of the prior order may endanger the child's physical health or significantly impair his or her emotional development. If the application for modification if filed more than two years after the court's most recent order, the court may modify the custody after considering whether any harm is likely to be caused to the child by a modification of the prior order and whether that harm is outweighed by the advantages of a modification.

Visitation is generally set by the court for a noncustodial parent if both parents cannot agree on a visitation schedule. Where the court is left to set visitation, it is normally scheduled as every other weekend, one night per week, and alternating holidays and school vacations, including summer vacations. A visitation order may be modified at any time if it would be in the best interest of the child.

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Child Support

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