CASELAW: Corte di Cassazione: judgement no. 11946 of 30/04/2026.
The Italian Supreme Court has reaffirmed a central principle in shared custody disputes: the time children spend with each parent does not have to be divided perfectly equally. Courts must prioritise the best interests of the child over any mathematical symmetry of parenting time.
The dispute involved unmarried parents of two young children. In this case, a father challenged the decision of the Court of Appeal of Milan and focused on the alleged disparity of time the children would spend with him and their mother. The father appealed to the Supreme Court claiming the violation of the principle of shared custody and right to family life.
The Supreme Court held that the regulation of a child’s time with the non‑resident parent must be based on a specific assessment by the trial judge, taking into account the child’s age, routines, emotional stability, and the need to maintain a meaningful relationship with both parents. The Court reiterated that shared custody does not require a 50/50 schedule. What matters is a balanced arrangement that protects the child’s wellbeing, even if the resulting timetable is not symmetrical. Courts must craft parenting schedules that reflect the real needs of the child, not the expectations of the parents. The Court actually found that the father’s application was “inadmissible”.
This ruling strengthens a well‑established line of jurisprudence in relation to the principle of “bigenitorialità” (the child’s right to grow up with both parents), confirming that this not imply a right to perfectly equal parenting time.