HB1067

Starting in custody disputes, South Dakota courts will now begin with the assumption that joint physical custody (roughly equal time with each parent) is in the child's best interest, unless evidence presented in court proves otherwise. The bill defines joint physical custody as a reasonably equal division of time between parents and allows this presumption to be overturned only by specific factors the law already requires courts to consider. This reverses the current approach where courts decide custody without any initial presumption favoring joint arrangements.

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