IN PLAIN ENGLISH
How custody works in Delaware
In Delaware, custody covers where your child lives, the time your child spends with each parent, each parent's access to information, and legal custody (who makes major decisions like school and health care). [DE-P4] Joint legal custody is about sharing decisions. [DE-P4] It is not about how much time the child spends in each home. [DE-P4]
Delaware does not start from 50/50, and the law does not favor mothers or fathers. [DE-P1] The judge decides custody and where the child lives based on the child's best interests, and sets a schedule meant to give the child frequent and meaningful contact with both parents unless that contact would be harmful. [DE-P1]
When parents cannot agree, the Family Court's Contact Guidelines serve as a possible schedule. [DE-P3] They change with the child's age: from birth to 18 months, every other weekend (Friday 6 p.m. to Sunday 6 p.m.) plus two weeknight visits of at least three hours; from 18 months to 5 years, two overnights a week plus every other weekend; from age 5, a shared schedule that may grow to alternating weeks. [DE-P3] The guidelines also split holidays by odd and even years and alternate summer weeks for children 5 and older. [DE-P3] Parents can agree on a different schedule. [DE-P3]
Before a final custody hearing, both parents usually must finish a parent education class and go to mediation, but there is no mediation when a court has found that one parent committed domestic violence against the other or there is a no-contact order. [DE-P4, DE-P5]
Words you’ll see in your papers
- Joint legal custody
- Both parents share major decisions such as health care, religion, school and activities. It does not set the time split. [DE-P4]
- Primary residence (primary physical placement)
- The home where your child stays overnight most of the time. [DE-P4]
- Contact or visitation
- Delaware's words for the other parent's time with the child. It can be overnight or not, supervised or not, and can include calls and video chats. [DE-P4]
- Contact Guidelines
- The Family Court's sample age-based schedule used when parents cannot agree. It is a starting point, not an automatic order. [DE-P3]
- Joint natural custody
- The status parents have when no custody order is in place. There is no enforceable schedule until a court orders one. [DE-P4]
COMMON QUESTIONS
What parents in Delaware ask first
Does Delaware start from 50/50?
No. The judge decides based on your child's best interests, and the law says the judge may not assume one parent is better because of that parent's sex. [DE-P1] The Contact Guidelines are a sample schedule, not a 50/50 rule. [DE-P3]
What does the judge look at?
The law tells judges to consider: what each parent wants; what your child wants; your child's relationships with parents, grandparents, siblings and others in the home; how settled your child is at home, school and in the community; everyone's mental and physical health; how well each parent has met their duties to the child; any domestic violence; and the criminal history of anyone in the home. [DE-P1] The court may also look at things like past contact, how well parents communicate, distance between homes, work schedules and drug or alcohol history. [DE-P3]
Does my child get to choose?
Your child's wishes are one factor, but Delaware law does not set an age when a child decides. [DE-P1] The judge may talk with your child privately to learn what your child wants. [DE-P1]
Can I move away with my child?
The Contact Guidelines say that if a move could change your child's school, travel time or activities, or otherwise hurt your child, you should get written approval from the other parent or a court order before moving. [DE-P3] During a custody case, a move of 60 days or more that takes your child out of Delaware, or that materially changes the current arrangement, is judged by factors such as your child's relationships, age and needs, whether visits can keep the bond with the other parent, your child's preference, and each parent's reasons. [DE-P1] Both parents must give written notice right away of any new address. [DE-P3]
Can the order be changed later?
Visitation can be changed at any time if the change is best for your child. [DE-P1] An order made after a full hearing on custody or where the child lives is harder to change: within two years, the court will change it only if keeping it may put your child's physical health or emotional growth at serious risk. [DE-P1] After two years, the judge weighs any harm from the change against its benefits, each parent's past compliance, and the best-interest factors. [DE-P1]
We were never married. Can I file?
Yes, if you are a legal parent. A father can be a legal parent through a signed Voluntary Acknowledgement of Parentage or a court finding of paternity. [DE-P4] The child generally must have lived in Delaware for at least six months before you file, unless the child is younger than six months. [DE-P4]
What if I am not safe?
You can ask the Family Court for a Protection From Abuse (PFA) order. [DE-P4] Custody terms in a PFA are temporary, so the court suggests filing for custody soon after. [DE-P4] Under Delaware law, a parent convicted of certain domestic violence crimes is presumed not to get custody or have the child live with them, unless strict conditions are met. [DE-P2]
Free, official places to start
- Delaware Family Court Contact Guidelines
The court's sample age-based schedule, holiday split, summer weeks and exchange rules.
- Child Custody Instruction Packet (PDF)
The Family Court's plain-language guide to filing, mediation, the hearing and the forms you need.
- Parent Education FAQ (PDF)
Who must take the required parent education class, the cost cap and when to finish it.
THE DETAILED GUIDE · WHAT KIND OF SCHEDULE THE LAW PROVIDES
Statewide guidelines
Research overview
Family Court publishes statewide Contact Guidelines with real time allocations. They are an adaptable possible schedule when parents cannot agree, applied after statutory best-interest review; not a self-executing statutory order. [DE1][DE3]
Legal force and applicability
Statewide advisory possible schedule. The Contact Guidelines do not create an automatic calendar for every family.
Authority and geographic scope
Delaware statewide custody statutes and Family Court advisory Contact Guidelines; a case-specific order or permitted written parental modification determines the enforceable schedule. [DE1][DE2]
Custody and parenting-time presumptions
Section 722 requires best-interest custody/residential arrangements and bars a preference based on parental sex. Section 728 calls for frequent and meaningful contact unless health/endangerment findings justify restriction. A custody order must include a contact schedule, controlling absent parental modification by written agreement under§ 727(c). [DE2]
Schedule & conditions
Read these topics together with your actual order. A model, form, or presumption does not automatically supply an enforceable calendar.
Regular school-year schedule
Guideline birth–18 months: alternating weekends Friday 6 pm–Sunday 6 pm plus two weeknights of at least 3 hours. 18 months–5 years: two overnights each week plus alternating weekends Friday 6 pm–Monday morning. Age 5+: shared-contact schedule that may extend to alternating weeks. Names, weekday selections and precise transitions still need an order. [DE1][DE3, AppendixA]
Holidays and school breaks
Alternating columns: Column 1 Easter / other religious holiday, July 4, Halloween, Christmas Day; Column 2 Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve. Parents are assigned opposite odd/even columns. Ordinary holidays 9 am–6 pm; Halloween 5–8 pm; Christmas Eve December 24 at 6 pm–December 25 noon; Christmas Day December 25 noon–December 26 at 6 pm. A Monday holiday after a contact weekend extends it to Monday 6 pm. Mother’s/Father’s Day 9 am–6 pm with that parent. Winter/spring school breaks divided equally or rotated. Holidays/school breaks take priority over ordinary time. [DE1][DE3]
Summer and vacation time
Under 5: each parent two nonconsecutive vacation weeks with at least 30 days written notice. Age 5+: alternating summer weeks from first Friday in June through last Friday in August; first selection alternates odd/even years, names left blank; selecting parent gives written notice March 1–April 1. The summer-week parent handles activities, summer school and care. [DE1][DE3]
Age and development
The guideline tiers are birth–18 months, 18 months–5 years, 5+. The source labels overlap at boundary ages; confirm the order’s transition rather than silently choosing. Overnight contact may be phased in when a child was cared for more exclusively by one parent. [DE1]
Distance, travel, and relocation
No numeric mileage-based schedule is prescribed in the reviewed sources. Proximity, school/daycare, housing and work schedules affect adaptation. Guideline paragraph 13 calls for written approval or a court order before a relocation adversely affecting school, travel or best interests. Section 734 applies during custody/visitation litigation to a proposed child relocation lasting 60 days or more that is outside Delaware or materially affects the existing arrangement/order; it supplies factors, not a long-distance calendar. [DE1][DE2]
Safety & exceptions
Assumes both parents are competent/effective and child is safe with each. Best interests, domestic violence, criminal history, substance issues and a mediator’s case-specific alternative can displace it. Section 728 permits contact restriction for physical-health endangerment or significant emotional-development impairment. [DE1][DE2][DE3]