Custody

Child Custody is an area which may be part of the divorce process, or it could involve unmarried parents seeking to establish, change, or keep current living arrangements in place.

The court has determined that when addressing custody, the best interest of the child or children will govern the matter. However, the ultimate decision is not always pleasing to the respective parents. It is often difficult to decide what days and times each parent will have custody. Also, vacation, and holiday custody also must be addressed.

Furthermore, there are the issues of what activities the children will participate in, where they will go to school, and what religion they will practice.

In most cases, the biological parents of a child will have to share in the lives of their children until the child reaches the age of 18, or longer depending on the agreement of the parties, or whether the child suffers from a disability, which could extend the obligation to care for the child, sometimes indefinitely.

Custody can be one of the most hotly contested areas of domestic relations law, and often takes compromise and agreement between both parents in order to provide for the child.

There are two types of custody which anyone dealing with a custody matter should be familiar with.

The first is called Legal Custody, and involves the ability of each parent to make important decisions in their child's life. Whether the child will go to public or private school is one such issue. Another issue which falls under legal custody involves what activities the child may participate in, and what religion they will practice. Legal custody can also involve health care decisions regarding the child.

The other kind of custody is called Physical Custody, and quite simply involves with whom the child physically resides or is with at a certain time.



» Back to Family Law Forum