Divorce is almost always difficult for spouses to navigate. If they have minor children, the divorce is likely to strain familial relationships and cause intense emotional responses.
Parents trying to protect their children from the stress of their divorce proceeding and hoping to secure the best possible custody arrangements need to understand what the law requires and how the courts handle contested custody matters. Judges hearing custody cases may need to make decisions about the allocation of both legal custody and physical custody of the children and the family.
How can parents effectively share their parental rights and responsibilities?
Physical custody
The term “physical custody” refers to time spent with the children and the responsibility to meet their needs. The parent who has physical custody at any given time takes the children to school, ensures that they eat and arranges for child care when they cannot be physically present with the children.
Parents or the courts can split physical custody in a number of different ways. Frequently, one parent has primary physical custody even when parents try to divide time as evenly as possible.
The parent with primary physical custody uses their address as the children’s address. Generally, parents or the courts work out an arrangement that has an overall breakdown of parenting time and schedules for special days, such as birthdays or holidays.
Legal custody
Legal custody relates to parental authority over minor children. Parents usually share legal custody, which means they have to discuss major decisions about their children.
Typically, each parent has the authority to make decisions during their own parenting time, such as whether the children have playdates with their peers and which doctor they see. They may have to coordinate with the other parent when making decisions with long-term implications.
Ideally, parents can put aside their disputes with one another and work cooperatively to give their children the love and support of two parents. Parents can reach their own arrangements for splitting legal and physical custody. If they cannot, then a judge may establish a custody order based on what they believe is in the best interests of the children.
Learning more about state custody procedures can empower parents when they must negotiate co-parenting arrangements. An attorney can help a parent understand and assert their rights during child custody proceedings.