Few disputes are more emotionally charged than those over child custody and parenting time, with each parent fighting to preserve their relationship with their child. At the Mount Laurel, New Jersey offices of Adinolfi, Roberto & Burick, P.A., our South Jersey child custody lawyers understand both the emotional and the legal nature of these cases. We listen to our clients to understand their goals, negotiate to develop workable and legally sound custody and parenting-time arrangements, and — when a negotiated or mediated solution is unattainable — advocate aggressively at every level of the family courts.
New Jersey’s Custody Law Changed in 2026 — Here’s What It Means
On January 20, 2026, New Jersey enacted the most significant overhaul of its child custody statute in a generation. The amendments to N.J.S.A. 9:2-4 — New Jersey’s answer to the federal Kayden’s Law framework — took effect immediately and apply to pending and future custody matters. The key changes:
- Child safety is now a threshold issue. Where there is a history of domestic violence, abuse, or credible safety concerns, the court must address those risks directly — before weighing the other custody factors — rather than minimizing them in pursuit of equal parenting time.
- The “frequent and continuing contact” presumption is gone. Courts no longer begin from a statutory presumption favoring contact with both parents; each arrangement must be justified by the child’s best interests on the record.
- Judges must show their work. In contested cases, the court must make detailed findings on the record explaining how each statutory factor influenced the decision — making thorough, well-documented advocacy more important than ever.
- The child’s voice carries more weight. A child’s custody preference is now a significant consideration, and a court that departs from it must explain why on the record.
- Limits on court-ordered “reunification therapy.” Courts may not order treatment programs designed to reunite a child with a parent the child resists without both parties’ consent, a finding that the child is of sufficient age, and scientifically valid proof that the therapy is safe and effective.
- Higher standards for custody evaluators. Mental health professionals conducting evaluations must be state-licensed, and in cases involving domestic violence or abuse, must have specific training and experience in those areas.
Existing custody orders were not automatically modified by the new law — but it changes the landscape for any new application, modification motion, or pending case. For a deeper discussion, read our analysis: New Jersey’s Custody Law Just Changed: What Parents Need to Know.
Understanding the Types of Custody in New Jersey
New Jersey law separates custody into two distinct questions. Legal custody is the right to make major decisions about your child’s life — education, health care, and general welfare. Physical custody (residential custody) concerns where the child lives day to day. Each can be joint (shared by both parents) or sole (held by one parent, typically with parenting time for the other). Joint legal custody with a shared or primary-residence parenting plan remains the most common arrangement — but under the amended statute, every arrangement must be grounded in the child’s best interests, with safety considered first. Where domestic violence or abuse is present, custody and parenting time can be severely limited, and supervised parenting time may be required.