Maria Cognetti Plays Integral Role in New Pennsylvania Child Custody Law
On March 23, 2026, Maria P. Cognetti, founder and managing partner of Cognetti Law Group, joined Governor Josh Shapiro at the State Capitol for a ceremonial signing of Act 11 of 2025. Cognetti was instrumental in the development of this landmark law, contributing directly to the bill’s specific statutory language and testifying before the House Judiciary Committee in support of its passage.
The legislation, which received near-unanimous bipartisan support, passing 202–1 in the Pennsylvania House and 50–0 in the Senate, fundamentally updates how Pennsylvania’s courts evaluate child custody cases. By reducing the custody determination factors from 16 to 12, the law makes the process more efficient, less expensive, and less burdensome for the families who must navigate it. Originally signed by Governor Shapiro on June 30, 2025, the law became effective on August 29, 2025. The ceremonial signing on March 23, 2026 underscores the significance of this update to the Pennsylvania Domestic Relations Code and recognizes those, like Maria Cognetti, who made it possible.
Maria’s involvement in shaping Pennsylvania’s family law landscape spans decades. As Chair of the Custody Subcommittee of the Joint State Government Commission Advisory Committee on Domestic Relations Law, a role she has held since 1996, she has guided the drafting and revision of the state’s most consequential custody statutes. The recommendations of that Task Force are directly reflected in Act 11 of 2025. Maria also serves on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Domestic Relations Procedural Rules Committee, ensuring that the protections written into law are also applied correctly in courtrooms across the Commonwealth.
In 2011, the Pennsylvania Bar Association honored Maria with its Special Achievement Award for her foundational work on Pennsylvania’s Child Custody Act, the very statute that Act 11 of 2025 now modernizes and strengthens. A past national president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), Maria has spent her career ensuring that Pennsylvania’s laws reflect one core principle: the best interest of the child is always the measure that matters most.