Some traditional forms of custody will always be the most popular. It's important for divorcing couples to understand what the below terms mean because some of them sound confusing. Once you make your custody decision and both of you agree on it, it can be difficult to make changes to it. Read on to find out about the most-used forms of custody.
Two Overall Considerations
Custody matters can be complex but it might be helpful to think about it by dividing it into two categories. There is legal custody and there is physical custody and couples can usually choose a combination of the two. Legal custody is basically the same type of custody that parents have when married. They both are expected to make major decisions about things together, even if they are divorced. Physical custody is pretty self-explanatory. It indicates the parent who keeps the child in their home for the majority of the time. For a detailed look at these categories and the custody choices within them, see below.
Legal Custody
In most cases, parents will share legal custody 50/50. That means working together on matters like disciplining the child, what religion the child follows, where the child attends school, dealing with healthcare issues, and more. Usually, this form of custody ends when the child is 18. In some rare cases, only one parent is awarded legal custody of the child. That is often a result of the other parent being deemed unfit to parent. Drug addiction, alcoholism, proven mental and/or physical abuse, incarceration, and other issues can mean a single legal custody ruling. It should be mentioned that while the biological parents are given a priority, grandparents or others may be provided with legal custody if both parents are unfit.
Physical Custody
While quite a lot of couples share legal custody, the physical custody method is more divided. The most common way to do custody is for both parents to share legal custody while just one parent has full physical custody. This way of doing things, confusingly, is called joint custody. The "joint" part of the term refers to the legal custody both have. The parent that doesn't have physical custody is very likely to have a visitation plan. These plans allow the non-custodial parent to spend time with the children by seeing them on weekends, after school, or for weeks when they are not in school. That is far from the only choice, however. Shared or 50/50 custody has both parents sharing both legal and physical custody of the child. The child is expected to spend about 50% of their time with each parent.
To find out more about these custody choices and more, speak to a family attorney as soon as possible.
Share29 April 2020
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