On August 29, 2025, a revised version of 23 Pa.C.S. § 5328 took effect in Pennsylvania, restructuring the framework every judge uses to evaluate child custody cases. The statute now lists 12 factors instead of 16. If you have a custody case pending, an existing order, or are considering filing, the first question you probably want answered is a practical one: does this change apply to your situation?
At William Kirby Law, Family Law Attorneys, we’ve been handling custody matters in Pennsylvania and New Jersey for over two decades. What follows is our honest read of what Act 11 of 2025 actually changed, what it didn’t, and what Philadelphia parents need to do differently because of it.
Why Pennsylvania Reduced the Factors from 16 to 12
Governor Shapiro signed House Bill 378 as Act 11 of 2025 on June 30, 2025. The House vote was 202 to 1, which tells you something. The 16-factor framework had critics on both sides of the aisle. Practitioners and parents alike had long complained that several of the old factors overlapped substantially, adding cost and confusion to proceedings without improving outcomes for children.
The legislature’s stated purpose was to reduce redundancy while preserving every meaningful protection. No safeguards were eliminated. Factors were reorganized and merged where they addressed the same underlying question. The result is a leaner statute that still keeps the best interests of the child standard at the center of every custody determination, just with less procedural noise around it. This is also the most significant restructuring of the custody evaluation framework since Kayden’s Law, Act 8 of 2024, took effect in August 2024.
The Four Consolidations That Matter Most
Reading the new statute next to the old one, four consolidations stand out as genuinely significant for how cases are presented and evaluated.
Co-Parenting Cooperation Is Now One Holistic Factor
Under the old statute, three separate factors addressed cooperation between parents: which party was more likely to encourage contact, which party was more likely to cooperate in post-custody matters, and whether either party attempted to turn the child against the other. All three are now merged into a single factor, numbered 2.3 in the new framework. Critically, the statute explicitly states that reasonable safety measures a parent takes to protect a child don’t count as a failure to cooperate. That carve-out isn’t new law, but its explicit inclusion reflects how courts have been applying Kayden’s Law protections in practice.
Parenting History & Future Commitment Are Combined
Past parental duties, nurturing behavior, and attendance at daily care activities were previously three distinct factors. They’re now evaluated together under one factor that asks courts to assess both a parent’s historical performance and future willingness to prioritize the child’s physical, emotional, developmental, and educational needs. In practical terms, a parent who was less involved historically but can demonstrate a genuine shift in circumstances has a cleaner path to making that argument in a single, consolidated showing.
Employment Schedule Is Now Explicitly Named
The new factor 12 specifically names employment schedule as something courts must consider. Under the old statute, work schedules were addressed only indirectly, absorbed into broader availability questions. Naming them explicitly is a meaningful change for parents who work non-traditional hours, travel regularly, or hold shift jobs. It cuts both ways: a demanding schedule can’t be minimized by the other side as legally irrelevant, but it also can’t be tucked under a catch-all provision anymore. It’s on the table, and both sides have to address it directly.
Written Notice of the Factors Is Now Required
Act 11 added a new procedural requirement: courts must provide all parties with a written copy of the 12 custody factors within 30 days of any custody filing, complaint, or petition to intervene. This is a meaningful protection for parents who go through custody proceedings without an attorney, and it creates a documented record that both parties were informed of the evaluative framework from the outset.
What Didn’t Change: Safety Still Carries the Most Weight
The concept of substantial weighted consideration (meaning certain safety-related factors must be evaluated before and above the others) remains intact. Courts are still required to prioritize factors addressing which party is more likely to ensure the child’s physical safety, history of present or past abuse, involvement of child protective services, and any history of violent or assaultive behavior. If a Protection from Abuse order (PFA) is in the picture, that context still commands significant weight in the court’s analysis. Kayden’s Law protections, enacted as Act 8 of 2024, are fully preserved and integrated into the new 12-factor framework. Act 11 didn’t weaken any abuse-related scrutiny.
Several factors also carried over completely unchanged: history of drug or alcohol abuse (factor 14), the mental and physical condition of any party or household member (factor 15), and proximity of the parties’ residences (factor 11) are identical to their predecessors in the old statute.
One note worth flagging: you may encounter sources citing 11 factors rather than 12, depending on how sub-items within certain factors are counted. The statutory text lists 12 distinct factors; the discrepancy in some summaries comes from readers treating certain sub-provisions as standalone items. We follow the statute’s own numbering.
Does the New Law Apply to Your Case?
The honest answer depends on where your case stands.
Cases filed on or after August 29, 2025 are evaluated under the new 12-factor framework without question. Cases filed before that date may continue under the prior 16-factor analysis, though courts scheduling hearings after the effective date have discretion in how they apply the transition. If you have a hearing coming up and your case was filed before the cutoff, confirm with your attorney which framework your judge is applying.
Modification petitions are more straightforward. If you file a custody modification petition after August 29, 2025, the new consolidated factors apply regardless of when the original order was entered. Parents with existing orders who now need to revisit custody are operating under the updated statute.
What Philadelphia Parents Should Document Now
The consolidation of factors doesn’t reduce the amount of evidence that matters in a custody case. It changes how that evidence needs to be organized and presented.
Co-Parenting Communication Under Factor 2.3
Because cooperation, contact encouragement, and parental alienation concerns are now evaluated together, judges are looking for a holistic picture rather than point-by-point performance on separate items. Document your communication patterns, your responses to scheduling requests, and any concrete steps you’ve taken to support the child’s relationship with the other parent. Text logs, emails, and calendar records all serve this purpose. If safety concerns have led you to limit contact, document the specific reasons and the steps you took. The statute now explicitly protects reasonable safety-motivated decisions from being characterized as alienation.
Employment Schedule Under Factor 12
Parents with shift work, travel-heavy roles, or non-traditional hours should address factor 12 proactively rather than wait to respond to a challenge. That means documenting your specific schedule in detail, naming the childcare arrangements in place when you’re unavailable, and identifying backup caregivers. Saying “I have coverage” in general terms won’t carry the same weight as a written plan showing who has the child, when, and how transitions are handled.
Filing in Philadelphia: In-Person Only
Custody cases in Philadelphia are heard in the Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County, Family Court Division. Unlike many civil matters, Philadelphia Family Court doesn’t accept electronic filings for custody proceedings. Every custody complaint, modification petition, and related pleading must be filed in person at 1501 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102. This affects your timeline, particularly if you’re working against a deadline or need to respond to an opposing party’s filing quickly. Build the in-person filing requirement into your preparation from the start.
Presenting Your Case Under the 12-Factor Framework
The shift from 16 factors to 12 simplifies the statute without softening the scrutiny. Fewer factors means each one carries more weight, and how a parent presents evidence against the consolidated framework matters more than the volume of points raised. A parent who addresses the co-parenting factor thoroughly, with concrete documentation rather than characterizations, is better positioned than one who generates a long list of grievances spread across multiple items.
If you want to understand how the updated Pennsylvania custody factors apply to your specific circumstances, our team is available for same-day appointments. William Kirby brings over two decades of family law experience and a direct, honest approach to every case. Reach out to William Kirby Law, Family Law Attorneys at (215) 515-9901 to talk through where your case stands under the new framework.