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=====Factors=====
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*The parent most likely to have the children's primary residence, assuming that their parenting time is not shared, is the person who was the children's primary caregiver during the relationship.
*Each parent's character, fitness, ability to cooperate with the other parent, and overall capacity to parent may be considered in determining how parental responsibilities or decision-making responsibility is allocated, depending on the circumstances of the case and as long as issues like this are genuinely important and relevant.
*The court may consider each parent's mental and physical capacity in determining how parental responsibilities or decision-making responsibility is allocated, depending on the circumstances of the case and, again, as long as issues like this are genuinely important and relevant.
*Siblings will usually be kept together, although they can be separated when it would be in their best interests to live apart.
*Where the children are in a stable and satisfactory setting, the court will be reluctant to alter the status quo, unless the long-term interests of the children outweigh the benefits of disturbing their present stability.
*The court will generally take into <span class="noglossary">account</span> the preferences of children who are 10 or 11 years old or older, but the court will not be bound to follow the children's wishes.
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Section 16(10) of the ''Divorce Act'' says this about making orders for custody and access: