Compulsory schooling and organizational requirements
Alternating custody is not automatic in Switzerland and is not a privilege of one parent. The determining factor is the child’s welfare. If a parent or the child requests shared care in cases of joint parental responsibility, the court must examine its feasibility on the basis of the specific circumstances.
Recurring criteria in the Federal Court’s case law include the parenting capacity of both parents, their ability to communicate and cooperate on child-related matters, the geographic situation, previous care, stability, the child’s age, sibling relationships and the social environment. Communication may also take place in writing; mediation by third parties does not preclude alternating custody.
Particularly important: A parent's mere resistance to shared custody does not by itself prove a lack of ability to cooperate. What is decisive is whether a serious parental conflict also affects other child-related matters to such an extent that the custody arrangement obviously burdens the child. Therefore, a court should not only establish that a conflict exists, but should examine its concrete manifestations, causes and effects on the child.
That a parent impedes communication, withholds information, or blocks caregiving arrangements must be assessed without regard to gender. Such behaviors may be relevant to the prognosis, but must not be attributed wholesale to the mother or the father. Statements must be linked to concrete, verifiable occurrences.
For a balanced decision, it is therefore necessary to compare the caregiving each parent can actually provide, how handovers are organised, how schooling and medical issues are coordinated, and which solution will provide the child with long-term stability and sustainable relationships with both parents.
Case law: BGE 142 III 612; BGE 142 III 617; Bundesgericht 5A_748/2022 vom 9. Februar 2023; 5A_195/2024 vom 9. Oktober 2024; 5A_102/2025 vom 20. März 2026.
Further posts
Editorial specialist article. Not individual legal advice. Before publication, the status of legislation and case law and the sources must be checked again.