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Legal Information: South Dakota

Custody

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Laws current as of July 23, 2025

Who can get custody of the child?

The law assumes (presumes) that the best interest of your child is to be in the care, custody, and control of his/her parent(s).1 Which parent will have custody or if custody will be shared between both parents will be based on what the judge believes is in the best interest of the child. For more information about the “best interest factors” that a judge will rely upon, you can see the question How will a judge make a decision about custody?

However, in certain circumstances, a non-parent can get custody. See Can a non-parent get custody of the child? for more information.

1 SDCL § 25-5-29

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