Table of Contents
Discover different Types of Child Custody below.
Physical Custody
Physical custody suggests that a parent has the legal right to have a child(ren) live with them. A lot of states will grant joint physical custody when the child spends considerable amounts of time with each parent. Joint physical custody is optimal if parents live somewhat close to each other, as it will lessen the stress on children and enables them to maintain a relatively normal routine.
Where the child lives mainly with one parent and has visitation with the other, commonly the parent with who the child mainly lives with, known as the “custodial” parent, is going to have sole or main physical custody, and the other parent, the non-custodial one, is going to have visitation rights or parenting time with their child.
Legal Custody
Sole Custody
Joint Custody
Parents that aren’t living together will have joint custody when they are sharing the decision making obligations for, and/or physical authority and the custody of, the child(ren). Joint custody may be present when the parents have been divorced, are separated, or aren’t cohabiting anymore, or even when they never even lived with each other.
Joint Custody Arrangements
When parents are sharing joint custody, they typically work out a schedule in accordance to their work needs, housing arrangements and the needs of the children. If the parents can’t come to an agreement on a schedule, the courts will enforce an arrangement. A typical pattern is for children to divide weeks between their parent’s house or condo.
Additional joint physical custody arrangements comprise of:
- alternating months, years, or 6-month lengths of time, or
- spending time on weekends and holidays with one parent, and spending days of the week with the other.
There is even joint custody arrangements in which the children stay in the family home and the parents alternate moving in and out, when not in the family home spending their time in individual housing of their own. This is typically known as – bird’s nest custody and/or nesting.
Joint Custody Pros and Cons
Joint custody has the advantage of guaranteeing the children have continuous contact and engagement with each of their parents. It also relieves many of the burdens of parenting for both parents.
There are, by all means, disadvantages:
- Children are required to be transported around.
- Non cooperating parents or ill will may have seriously negative impacts on children.
- Maintaining 2 homes for the children may be costly.
If there is a joint custody arrangement in place, keep detailed and organized financial records of your costs. Retain receipts for groceries, schooling and after-school interests, clothing and their medical care. Eventually, your ex might claim they have spent more on the children than you have, and a judge will value your thorough records.
Source:
Nolo. (2020, November 06). The Different Types of Child Custody. Retrieved December 10, 2020, from https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/types-of-child-custody-29667.html
