Because joint custody assumes that the parents are able to work together to make joint decisions regarding the child, the courts will not award joint custody unless both parties agree. The court cannot give custody to a party solely because the party is the mother or the father of the child. The court will consider the child's emotional ties or bonds with the person who has been the primary caretaker of the child. The primary caretaker is usually defined as the one who attends to the child's basic needs on a daily basis and this is often the parent with whom the child is living. The court will consider the conduct, marital status, income, social environment or lifestyle of a party only if such a factor is causing or may cause emotional or physical damage to the child.
Courts are reluctant to separate siblings.
The court may consider a child s preference to live with a party unless the choice is against the child s best interests. The child's preference will be considered in varying degrees, depending on the child's age and reasons for the preference. Children under 10 years of age may not be competent to testify as a witness. However, they can be shown to be competent if they can be shown to understand what they are testifying about and that they understand what telling the truth means. There is no set age in Oregon for a child to decide where he or she will live.