Custody, Access and Child Support: Findings from The National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth

III - WHEN PARENTS SEPARATE: CANADIAN CHILDREN FROM BROKEN FAMILIES AND THE LAW (continued)

Custody Arrangements

When couples increasingly live together and have families without marrying, we have seen that breaking up also tends to occur without resort to the legal system. Does this affect the likelihood of separated parents obtaining a court order for custody? Is the custody of children increasingly arranged out of court? How does this relate to the parents' decision not to marry or divorce?

The NLSCY asked parents the following questions about their custody arrangements: