ABSTRACT
The law concerning parenting issues after separation has for a long time been a key policy area in the Scandinavian countries. The promotion of equal parenthood through joint parental responsibility has resulted in far reaching legal solutions for post-separation parenting; including court determined alternating residence for the child against the wishes of one or both parents. Parents with joint parental responsibility have a right and a duty to decide together in matters concerning the child. In all the countries, parents can make agreements concerning with whom a child should live, including shared residence. With the emergence of the policy of joint parental responsibility for separated parents as a principal rule there has also been a noticeable development of alternative forms of adjudication of parental disputes. The regulation concerning post-separation parenting has been one of the policy areas that has been under constant reform since the end of the 1970s in order to achieve equality between parents, also after their separation.
