What if one parent wants sole custody and the other wants joint custody?

The court cannot order joint custody unless both parents agree. In mediation, they almost always agree to a joint custody arrangement. If you go to court, the court WILL place the children with one parent or the other if the parents do not agree. You are rolling the dice and potentially losing custody if the judge disagrees with you. One of the mothers in my mediations, a drug addict who had twice attempted suicide in front of the kids, assumed she was going to be awarded custody. She rejected the limitations that the father tried to place on her in order to get joint custody. The case went to court and sole custody was awarded to the father. It’s a gamble that succeeds half the time and fails half the time.