Categories of child custody explained

A divorce is never a completely easy process. Divorces are generally always messy. Where children are involved, a divorce can be particularly difficult. The issue about who is granted custody of a child in a divorce is often left to the court, as the parties involved in the divorce generally cannot come to an agreement amongst themselves about who is going to get custody. It is important, therefore, to realize the factors that are considered for deciding who gets child custody in a divorce. Generally who gets child custody in a divorce will depend on few characteristics of the parents. The living condition, income and lifestyle of each parent is generally considered. The simple truth is that, often, a judge will award legal custody to a parent who has had physical custody of the child. Judges typically do not wish to disrupt a child’s life and routine any more than is required. There are other factors that the court will consider while determining who gets custody of a child in a divorce. Major factors like abuse, drug use, illegal activities, or emotional instability may force a court to consider granting the other parent custody of the child in the divorce.

There are various different types of child custody arrangements. When parents go through a divorce, they have the choice of deciding the child custody arrangements on their own. But, in many cases, they are not able to reach an agreeable decision. If this happens, a court will decide the child custody arrangement. There are four basic types of child custody arrangements- joint legal custody, sole legal custody, sole physical custody, and joint physical custody. Even though the specifics of each type may vary from one state to the next, they do share some characteristics. To begin with, there are two categories of legal custody arrangements. Legal custody primarily refers to the rights and responsibilities as they relate to the child and can include things like health, education, and general well-being. In case of joint legal custody, both parents share these responsibilities. Joint legal custody requires that the parents will be able to work together with one another for the benefits of the children. It also requires that the parents provide a detailed plan to the court about how the joint legal custody will work. The other sort of legal custody arrangement is sole legal custody, in which one parent has those legal rights and responsibilities. In this kind of custody, the non-custodial parent may still have visitation rights, however has few other rights in regard to the children. There are also two categories of physical custody arrangements – sole physical custody and joint legal custody. The first one, sole physical custody, is a situation in which one parent has the majority of contact with the child, and the child lives exclusively with that parent. In sole physical custody, the non-custodial parent may again still retain visitation rights. Both parents have plenty of contact with the child in case of a joint physical custody. Child custody litigation is complex. Seek the assistance of experienced divorce lawyers.