Minnesota Child Custody State Law

Minnesota Statutes Annotated, Section 518.17 (M.S.A. Sec. 518.17).

The best interests of the child means all relevant factors to be considered and evaluated by the court including: the wishes of the child’s parent or parents as to custody; the reasonable preference of the child, if the court deems the child to be of sufficient age to express preference; the child’s primary caretaker; the intimacy of the relationship between each parent and the child; the interaction and interrelationship of the child with a parent or parents, siblings, and
any other person who may significantly affect the child’s best interests; the child’s adjustment to home, school, and community; the length of time the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory environment and the desirability of maintaining continuity; the permanence, as a family unit, of the existing or proposed custodial home; the mental and physical health of all individuals involved; the capacity and disposition of the parties to give the child love, affection, and guidance, and to continue educating and raising the child in the child’s culture and religion or creed, if any; the child’s cultural background; the effect on the child of the actions of an abuser, if related to domestic abuse, that has occurred between the parents or between a parent and another individual, whether or not the individual alleged to have committed domestic abuse is or ever was a family or household member of the parent; and except in cases in which a finding of domestic abuse has been made, the disposition of each parent to encourage and permit frequent and continuing contact by the other parent with the child. The court shall not consider conduct of a proposed custodian that does not
affect the custodian’s relationship to the child. The court must make detailed findings on each of the factors and explain how the factors led to its conclusions and to the determination of the best interests of the child. Joint custody is presumed to be in the child’s best intetest. Where either joint legal or joint physical custody is sought, the court shall consider: the ability of parents to cooperate in the rearing of their children; methods for resolving disputes regarding any major decision concerning the life of the child, and the parents’ willingness to use those methods; whether it would be detrimental to the child if one parent were to have sole authority over the child’s upbringing; and whether domestic
abuse has occurred between the parents.

Fathers Rights Blog | Child Custody State Law List .. Above info from a 2004 legal publication.
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