Judicial Attitudes Regarding Custody and Visitation Issues

State judges in Louisiana were surveyed by mail with regard to their attitudes dealing with custody and visitation issues. The most preferred custody arrangement was school year with one parent and summer with the other parent, followed by (2) continuous custody by one parent, (3) alternate six months, (4) alternate months, (5) alternate weeks, and finally, (6) split week. The most preferred visitation schedule was every othcr weekend followed by (2) every weekend, (3) more often than every weekend, (4) one weekend per month, and finally (5) less than one weekend per month. When askcd to rate the importance of 12 factors which are considered in custody decisions, the highcst ratings wcrc given to factors dealing with parent-child relationships and the family unit. The lowest ratings were assigned to the preferences of younger children.