Child Custody &
Support Lawyer

Few things are harder than a custody dispute, and few areas of law are more misunderstood. Much of what people "know" about custody is outdated or simply wrong — and Pennsylvania's rules changed significantly in 2024 and 2025. This guide explains how child custody actually works in Pennsylvania and in Monroe County, so you can make decisions from facts rather than fear.

Legal custody vs. physical custody

Pennsylvania separates the authority to make decisions from the schedule of where a child lives.

• Legal custody — the right to make major decisions (medical, religious, educational). It can be sole (one parent) or shared (both confer and agree).
• Physical custody — where the child actually lives and is cared for: sole, primary (the majority of overnights), partial (less than half), shared (significant time with each — not necessarily a strict 50/50), or supervised.

("Visitation" is an outdated term; Pennsylvania now calls it partial physical custody.)

How custody is decided: the best-interest factors

A judge cannot rule on a hunch. The court must weigh the statutory best-interest factors in 23 Pa.C.S. § 5328. Pennsylvania updated these factors in 2025 (Act 11 of 2025, building on "Kayden's Law," Act 8 of 2024), streamlining them to 12 and requiring courts to give substantial weighted consideration to the first four — all centered on the child's safety:

1. Which parent is more likely to keep the child safe;
2. Any history of abuse by a parent or household member;
3. Any history of violent or assaultive behavior;
4. Co-parenting — who is more likely to support the child's relationship with the other parent (when safe).

The remaining factors include each parent's caregiving capacity; the child's need for stability; sibling and family bonds; the child's own well-reasoned preference; the distance between homes; work schedules and child-care; any drug or alcohol abuse; and the mental and physical health of those in each household — plus any other relevant factor.

The custody process in Monroe County

A custody case begins by filing a complaint — along with a required criminal-record and abuse-history verification — with the Court of Common Pleas in Stroudsburg (the 43rd Judicial District). From there, most cases move through an early custody conference before a conference officer, often after a required parenting-education program, where many families reach an agreement that becomes a court order. If no agreement is reached, the matter proceeds through evaluations and a pre-trial conference to a hearing before a family-court judge, who must explain the decision on the record using the statutory factors. Monroe County has its own local rules for these steps, which is one reason local experience matters.

Moving with a child: relocation

You cannot simply move away with a child if it would significantly disrupt the other parent's time. Under 23 Pa.C.S. § 5337, the relocating parent must give 60 days' written notice by certified mail, and the other parent can object with a counter-affidavit within 30 days. If they object, the move requires court approval after a hearing — and the burden is on the parent who wants to move to prove it serves the child's best interest. Moving without proper notice can lead to the child's court-ordered return and can be held against you.

Changing an existing order

Custody orders can be modified. Contrary to a widespread belief, Pennsylvania does not require you to first prove a "substantial change in circumstances" — the statutory standard (§ 5338) is simply the child's best interest. As a practical matter, a judge will want to see a meaningful reason before disrupting a child's established routine, but the door to modification is the child's well-being, not a technical threshold.

Custody and child support are separate

This trips up many parents: custody and child support are two different cases, handled under different rules and by different parts of the court. The number of overnights affects how support is calculated, but a parent may never withhold support because they are being denied time — or withhold time because support is unpaid.

When safety is a concern

Where there is domestic violence, custody and protection overlap. A Protection From Abuse (PFA) order can set temporary custody, and under Pennsylvania's reformed law a proven history of abuse creates a rebuttable presumption that the abusive parent should have only supervised custody unless the court specifically finds unsupervised time is safe. If you or your children are at risk, tell your attorney immediately — it changes the analysis.

How we help

Gary J. Saylor practices as part of Cramer, Swetz, McManus, Jordan & Saylor, P.C. — so your custody matter gets the focus of a dedicated family-law attorney backed by a full-service firm’s resources.

Custody cases are won on preparation and local knowledge: knowing the current factors, the Monroe County process, and how to present your role in your child's life clearly and credibly. We help parents pursue workable, child-centered arrangements — and we are ready to litigate firmly when a child's wellbeing requires it.

Frequently asked questions