New Amendments to New Jersey Custody Statute

New Year, New Statute

On January 20, 2026, the New Jersey custody statute was amended. The statutory amendments will now require that the safety and preferences of each child be of primary concern when addressing custody matters.

While the preferences of the child and safety concerns were always relevant to a custody determination, the statutory amendments emphasize these concerns and provide specific procedures to ensure same. While “safety” was always a factor for the court to consider, now the custody statute specifically requires that all “… judicial decisions regarding custody of, and access to, children… promote the safety of children as a threshold issue.”

The safety of New Jersey children is, accordingly, no longer simply a factor, amongst others, for the court to consider. Now, “the safety of children is of paramount importance and is an integral element of the child’s best interest.”

The other major substantive change concerns the child’s expressed preferences. While the old custody statute required that a child be of sufficient age and maturity to make an informed decision before the court would be required to consider the child’s preferences, now; presumably at any age, the Judge hearing the custody matter will be required to specifically place on the record the factors which justify the arrangement and which justify the court’s decision to disregard the child’s expressed preferences.”

What Does This Mean?

Also, now the courts are prohibited from granting increased custody for purposes of improving the relationship between the child and one party and/or to address the child’s reluctance to interact with any party, whenever there is “evidence of a history of domestic violence or child abuse.” Courts will accordingly now be more focused on the children’s safety rather than reunification of children with an estranged parent, whenever there is any history of domestic violence or child abuse.

Input From Professionals

The amended custody statute also significantly impacts if and how our New Jersey courts will consider input from therapists and/or mental health professionals in custody matters.

First, the court may now only order therapy with a “state licensed mental health professional.” While this “state licensed mental health professional” may coordinate or consult with any treating therapist for the parents and/or the child, the “state licensed mental health professional” must possess “substantial training and experience” in matters involving domestic violence and/or child abuse, for the court to consider their input.

The amended statute also now empowers the Court to order that the therapist “…report to the court, on a periodic basis as determined by the court, regarding the progress of therapy, including but not limited to, the parties’ and the child’s willingness to participate in therapy.”

Types of Therapy

The amended statute also limits what types of therapy our courts may now order and/or consider in the context of custody matters. The amendments prohibit the use of “any therapy unless there is generally accepted and scientifically valid proof of the safety, effectiveness, and therapeutic value of the therapy.” Now, concerned caregivers must demonstrate “…good cause that therapy is appropriate prior to (a court) ordering such therapy.” Therapy that terminates a child’s access to “a safe parent who is was not physically or sexually abusive and with whom the child responded or to a home the child is attached” will not be permitted, without the consent of both parties.

The recurring issue of children refusing to participate in therapy designed to reunite children with an estranged parent, sometimes referred to as “reunification therapy” is also addressed by the new amendments. “No treatment program intended to reunite a child with a party from whom that child is estranged and to whom the child resists or refuses contact shall be ordered by the court without the consent of both parties, and upon a determination that the child is of sufficient age.” It will accordingly now be more difficult for parents or guardians in New Jersey to compel reunification therapy and/or any other type of therapy, when a child is of sufficient age and refuses to participate in same, unless the non-estranged parent/legal guardian consents to same.

Open for Interpretation

As a practitioner, it will be interesting to see how our New Jersey courts will interpret this new statutory language and, hopefully, support the paramount interests of keeping our children safe and, in addition, empowering our children to make choices for themselves as they grow older. While the new amendments may limit a reviewing court’s ability to implement therapies to address, improve and/or repair the relationships between New Jersey parents/guardians and their children and/or otherwise order custody arrangements that are contrary to a child’s expressed preferences, hopefully, our children, when of sufficient age, will know what’s best for themselves and, if necessary, express said preferences in the context of therapy with “state licensed mental health professional” before, rather than after, there is a custody dispute.

Finally, what the new custody statute did not restrict was access to mediation by all parties to resolve whatever custody and parenting time disputes they may have, in the context of a divorce and/or separation. With mediation, parents get to decide what’s important and how best to address the safety and preferences of their children. In this regard, it is worth noting that the new amendments did not change the statutory provision that makes it clear that no parent/guardian should “…be deemed unfit unless that parents conduct has a substantial adverse effect on the child.” Hopefully, this provision still applies to most of the parents and children addressing custody matters and, as such, parents/guardians will reach agreement rather than need the assistance of therapists and/or the courts.