VERMONT

Vermont's PTA appropriately takes into account the effect of the PTA on both parents' households.

Vermont's PTA appropriately results in no presumptive child support transfer payment when parental income and parenting time are both equal.

Vermont's PTA has an unjustifiably high threshold of 109 days.

Vermont's PTA has a large discontinuity (or discontinuities), creating a large cliff effect or multiple cliff effects.

Vermont's PTA overestimates the fixed, duplicated costs involved in shared parenting.

Vermont statutes include a policy statement that “after parents have separated or dissolved their civil marriage, it is in the best interests of their minor child to have the opportunity for maximum continuing physical and emotional contact with both parents, unless direct physical harm or significant emotional harm to the child or a parent is likely to result from such contact.”

Vermont statutes require a court to consider a “friendly parent” factor in determining a child’s best interest for custody purposes.

Rhode Island has no statutory preference for, or presumption of, shared parenting (joint legal custody and shared physical custody) for temporary or final orders.

Rhode Island statutes do not explicitly provide for shared parenting during either temporary or final orders.

Rhode Island statutes consistently speak of “the custodial parent” and “the noncustodial parent.”

Rhode Island statutes do not contain any policy statement or other language encouraging shared parenting.

Rhode Island statutes do not mandate consideration, or even enumerate as a possible factor, a “friendly parent” factor in determining a child’s best interest for purposes of determining custody. A “friendly parent” factor is mandated by case law (Pettinato v. Pettinato, 582 A.2d 909, 913-14 (R.I. 1990).)