Are There Different Types of Child Custody?

Yes. There are two types of child custody. 

1.) Legal Custody

    • The ability to make decisions about important aspects of a child’s lift.
 

2.) Physical Custody

    • Physical responsibility for the child, including routine daily decisions. 
 
In appropriate cases, parents may share joint custody (either joint physical custody, joint legal custody, or both). In determining custody, courts use the standard of the best interest of the child(ren)

 

Joint Legal Custody

With this arrangement, the child(ren) can live with both parents, and both parents share the right to make important decisions about their lives. 

 

Joint Physical Custody

With this arrangement, the child(ren) stays with each parent overnight for more than 30% of the year. This means equal or almost equal periods of physical custody and access to the child(ren) by each parent, as required to meet the best interest of the child. 

 

Sole Legal and Sole Physical

Either parent can be awarded sole custody of the child(ren). This means that the child(ren) live with one parent, and they have the right to make important decisions for them. 

 

The non custodial parent (The parent whose children do not live with them), will generally have parent-time, also known as visitation rights. If the court believes that a parent might harm or endanger the child during visitation, the court might either deny visitation altogether or grant supervised visitation. 

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