Divorce is never easy, and when you are a parent there are often tough decisions to be made. If you’re a parent and are going through a divorce, you’ve likely been the subject of a custody battle at some time in your life. Child custody is most often the toughest part for individuals going through a divorce. However, having a custody lawyer by your side can make everything easier for you and the children involved.
There are many different kinds of child custody, but it’s hard to know how they work and what is really best for your children. That’s why this post will outline all of the different types of child custody and what they entail.
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Physical custody
Physical custody means that a parent has the authority to be in charge of where the child lives. In this case, it’s usually not shared with another adult. This means that a parent will have sole custody of their child and have the final say in most aspects of the child’s life. This is opposed to legal custody which is more focused on decision-making authority.
Physical custody is most common in cases where the parents’ relationship has become toxic or they do not get along. It’s also common enough in cases where one parent has a drinking or drug problem and the other simply cannot manage to care for the children with this threat present.
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Legal custody
Legal custody is slightly different than physical custody. In this situation, the parents share the right to make medical, educational, and religious decisions for their children. This can be granted as sole legal custody or joint legal custody. It’s important that parents are on the same page when it comes to these decisions because it will protect the children involved in many ways. The most important thing to understand about legal custody is that it’s focused on decision-making authority while physical custody is more related to where the child lives.
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Joint custody
In general, joint custody is where the parents work together as a team to raise their child. In this case, each parent will have equal, but different levels of parenting time with the child. It’s best that parents be on the same page when it comes to making decisions involving their children because they will be focusing on one goal, raising their children together. Joint custody is usually much less common than physical and legal custody.
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Sole custody
The opposite of joint custody, sole custody means that the parents have full and complete authority to make all decisions for their child. This means that the child is “solely” in the care of one parent.
