Alternating custody: a model that works, but not for every family

When a couple with children separates, Swiss law recognises two main arrangements. The first is sole custody: the children live with one parent, often the mother, while the other has visiting rights. The second is alternating custody, a care arrangement split equally between both parents. Today it applies to roughly one in six separations. Federal politics could soon give it a push.

A parliamentary initiative from Centre party National Councillor Sydney Kamerzin, from canton Valais, has been submitted in Bern. It calls on judges and authorities to actively favour alternating custody, rather than simply treating it as one option among others. For Kamerzin, the current risk is that a parent involved in their children's daily life ends up, after separation, with only a few hours of visiting time a month. The proposal has already been approved by the National Council's Legal Affairs Committee. It will be debated by the full chamber during the winter session.

Those living under this model report a positive experience. That is the case for Davide and Elif, divorced parents who for six years have split their time equally with their two children. Both describe an intense relationship with their children, despite the initial scepticism of those around them.

The necessary conditions

Not everyone shares this enthusiasm. The Ticino Association of Single-Parent Families warns against uniform solutions imposed on very different families. According to its coordinator, Alessia Di Dio, many cases of sole custody already exist in which the non-custodial parent is heavily involved in the children's lives. In most cases, moreover, parents reach an agreement themselves, without a judge's involvement. Di Dio also points to requests for alternating custody that were turned down for concrete reasons, such as very young children forced into a ninety-minute journey every two or three days.

Federica Invernizzi Gamba, director of family counselling services, and Sonia Zamboni, a judge at the Court of Appeal, also acknowledge that alternating custody can work. But they set conditions: favourable housing logistics and the ability of parents to communicate. A genuine willingness from both to care for the children equally is also needed. Zamboni notes that a generational shift is already under way, visible for instance in the growing number of fathers taking their children to school.

For the most difficult cases, close to parental alienation, tools such as criminal warnings and disciplinary fines remain available. The issue of medical certificates used strategically also remains unresolved: according to Zamboni, a doctor should not issue one based solely on one parent's account, without involving the other.

If the Kamerzin initiative were approved, judges would no longer just assess alternating custody case by case, but would have to actively favour it. It remains to be seen how this principle would apply to the more fragile situations flagged by associations, where limited financial resources, long distances between homes, or already conflictual relationships make an equal split of time harder to sustain, especially for the youngest children.