Sometimes we pay the lawyer just to ask for a definition. Here are a few to consider.
Joint legal custody: Both parents get to decide on what’s best for the child, especially on topics such as health care, school, and medical. It requires conferring on these topics, and coming to a decision together.
Sole legal custody: Decision making authority is in the hands of one parent. The other may have visitation and pay child support but does not have the power to make decisions. The sole parent, in the best interest of coparenting, may confer with the other parent and allow them to weigh in on big decisions.
Joint physical custody: Each parent has significant (not necessarily equal) time with the child. This ensures meaningful contact with both parents. This is definitely recommended for healthy parents. It is in the best interest of the child to know both parents, and have a loving relationship with each one.
Sole physical custody: The child lives with one parent permanently. (That parent also has the right to make all important decisions about the child, regardless of whether the other parent disagrees.)
So what is the court looking for when making these decisions?
Statutes apply by state and define custody as the authority we look to when making both physical and legal custody. The courts favor frequent and meaningful contact!
Order of priority that the court (justice system) generally leans toward:
- Considers joint physical and joint legal
- Joint physical and sole legal
- Sole physical and joint legal
- Sole legal and sole physical
- Third-party custody, when parents are unable or unfit to fill their role as a parent.
Legal custody: having the right and the obligation to make decisions about a child’s upbringing. A parent with legal custody can make decisions about the child’s schooling, religious upbringing and medical care… (source nolo)
Parental alienation can happen if a child is estranged from a parent. This can happen when one parent manipulates the system to block the child from seeing their other parent. The longterm impact can be devastating and is evidence for why children need to have access to both parents.
When assessing custody, here are a few of the factors that the court’s assessing:
- Wishes of the parent as to what’s best for the children
- Need for children to have meaningful and frequent contact with both parents
- Interaction/inter-relationship of the parents/child and child/siblings and others in their daily life
- Which parent is more likely to promote frequent and meaningful contact with child/other parent
- Child’s adjustment to home, school, community life
- mental/physical health of individuals History of abuse
- Intention of the other party to relocate
- Wishes of the child… depends on age/maturity (12+)
Have a discussion on how each factor applies to your situation!
Source: Fighting the Custody Battle Against a Selfish Parent | Cordell & Cordell (case law)