Every year almost 50 000 children in Sweden experience their parents separation. Of these, approximately every tenth child experiences how the parents fight in court for custody - disputes that are associated with high costs, both humanly and economically. The current system for handling custody disputes in court dates back to the beginning of the 1900-hundreds, and the at that time prevalent view of children, parenthood and the meaning of legal custody. There are factors in the legal system as well as in the reality the decree refers to, which motivate an investigation of the current order for solving custody disputes. There is a need for a thorough discussion of the role of the legal process in solving today's conflicts in the field of family law. In other fields of law than family law, there has been a rapid development of alternative methods for conflict resolution. The aim of this project is to generate new knowledge and to suggest alternative methods that can create the necessary conditions to develop and improve the society's dealing with custody disputes. The prevailing methods for solving custody disputes in court will be examined and analyzed. The alternative methods currently in use for solving custody disputes out of court shall furthermore be mapped out. The custody dispute is a complex question whose solution not solely can be achieved through the judicial system. Knowledge from other fields than law is necessary. The project is inter-disciplinary with both a traditional judicial method as well as a socio-legal method.