Child custody is split into physical and legal custody. Parents can share or split physical and legal custody depending on what works best for each parent and their child.
Physical custody determines how much time a child spends with each parent. Parents can have a custody schedule to maintain physical custody days. Parents are also expected to care for their child’s needs (clothing, food and shelter) and maintain their daily routine.
Legal custody determines which parent can make decisions for their child. A parent with legal custody can decide on, for example, where their child goes to school, the type of medication they can take or if they will go to therapy.
What is joint and sole custody?
Parents may be given joint or sole custody. These forms of custody can decide how involved each parent is in their child’s life.
Joint custody means that each parent shares some physical or legal custody rights. They can work together to raise their child, create a custody schedule and make joint decisions. Some considerations that would need to be made with a joint custody arrangement are how close each parent is to the other, how to communicate, how often each parent works and what is best for their child’s upbringing.
Sole custody means that one parent has primary physical or legal custody. They may be entirely responsible for their child’s upbringing. This may be especially beneficial if the other parent has substance abuse issues or a criminal history. The other parent may be given some visitation rights, which may be supervised.
Parents can reach out for legal guidance to learn more about their custody options.