Joint Legal and Sole Physical Custody

Joint custody is a way to give both parents a say in their child`s upbringing. It is intended for cases where both parents can make important decisions and are available. If you have sole custody and joint custody, it means that your child lives with you. You can make day-to-day decisions about school, extracurricular activities, and friends, but you can`t move to another state or change churches without your ex`s consent. Physical custody concerns the residence, daily care and control of the minor child. In general, physical custody means which parent the child or children will live with most of the time and in everyday life. Physical custody is different from « parenting time », which usually refers to a specific schedule for the minor child. Parental leave can refer to children`s schedules, holiday times, transportation, and where children will lie down at night. Physical custody refers to the parent with whom the child lives. If the child lives full-time with a parent, that parent has sole custody. If the child divides his or her time between the homes of two parents, the parents have joint custody. The parent with whom the child lives can make the day-to-day decisions: Can I participate in the school trip? Can Katie come? What`s for lunch today? If you know that you and the other parent cannot share responsibility for your child, joint custody is not for you. The state of Utah defines joint custody as the authorization of both parents: a sole custody agreement does not automatically exclude the other parent from visiting their child.

For example, Jen and Vince divorce and decide that Vince will stay in the family home with the children, while Jen moves into an apartment. Although Vince has sole custody, Jen has dinner with the kids on Fridays and every three weekends. Sometimes, when transferring custody to one parent would harm the children, the courts give custody to someone other than the parents because it is in the best interests of the children. Usually, this is called « guardianship, » where someone who is not the parent applies for custody of the children because the parents cannot care for them. Click here for more information on guardianship. Option 2: Each parent makes decisions for the child if they have physical custody. For example, if a teenager asks for birth control while she is with a parent, that parent may decide to take her to a doctor. When joint custody is sought, the court considers the following factors: Sometimes a judge grants joint custody to the parents, but not joint physical custody. This means that both parents share responsibility for important decisions in children`s lives, but children live with 1 parent most of the time.

The parent who does not have physical custody usually has visits with the children. After a judge makes a custody or access order, 1 or both parents may want to change the order. Typically, the judge approves a new custody and access order, which both parents accept. If the parents cannot agree on a change, 1 parent can apply to the court for a change. This parent will likely have to fill out certain forms to request a court hearing and prove to the judge that circumstances have changed significantly (p. e.g., children would be harmed if the order was not changed) or another good reason to change the order. Both parents will likely need to meet with a mediator to discuss why the court order needs to be changed. Keep in mind that joint custody does not mean that both parents receive the same parental leave with the child. If you want sole custody because you want your child to live primarily with you, you may still be able to have the housing arrangements you want with shared custody.

Your state custody policies can help you know how to proceed. Here are some common visitation plans for sole custody: It`s always best if you and your ex can agree on a custody agreement. If you can`t, your California divorce attorney will try to negotiate with your ex`s lawyer to find a deal that works for you and your children. If no agreement can be reached, the family court judge makes the final decision. By law, sole custody means that a child lives with the custodial parent most of the time, specifically, 255 nights or more per year. Non-custodial parents are still entitled to standard visits, usually about 86 overnight visits, which are divided in different ways, such as: If the judge decides that the optimal choice for the child is joint and physical sole legal custody, this means that the child stays with one parent for more than 225 nights a year. The parent who does not have physical custody receives regular visits and always makes decisions for the child. The goal is to allow the child to live a stable life at home. This is often a more practical choice if both parents work or if the child is going to school.

You must specify in your parenting plan the custody option your family will use. This determines who makes decisions about your children`s education, medical care, religion, and more. Many people view custody as the right to control a child`s physical location. However, custody is multifaceted and includes both physical custody, that is, the right to determine where the child resides, and legal custody, which is the right to make important decisions about the child`s health, education and upbringing. In previous years, sole custody was granted to the primary caregiver, usually the child`s mother. Today, courts are reluctant to grant one parent sole custody of a child for no significant reason to do so, and usually establish some sort of joint custody agreement. Sole custody is generally defined as a parent`s exclusive right to physical and legal custody of a child. Therefore, a parent with sole custody is responsible for determining where the child resides, and the child will reside with that parent at all times. In addition, a parent who is concerned alone is the only one who can make important decisions about the child`s well-being.