WHO GETS CUSTODY

Changes in the living arrangements of children have implications for s ocial policy and children's well-being. Understanding who gets custody on divorce-mother, father, or both sharing custody-can also inform ou r understanding of family organization and the merits of alternative t heories of marriage and divorce. We examine physical-custody outcomes among recent Wisconsin divorces in an effort to understand the factors associated with shared custody as well as mother-sole custody and fat her-sole custody. Although mother-sole custody remains the dominant ar rangement, shared custody has increased over a nine-year period. We fi nd that the probability of shared custody increases with parent's inco me. Prior marital history, parents' ages, the age and gender of childr en, and the legal process also have an impact on the probability of sh aved custody. In contrast to shared custody, the probability of father -sole custody decreases with parent's income, while the relationship w ith other significant factors is generally similar. The notable except ion is that, unlike shared custody, we find no evidence for an increas e over time in the probability of father-sole custody. We also find th at when the father has a higher proportion of the couple's total incom e, both shared custody and father-sole custody are more likely.