Types of Child Custody – What You Should Know
Types of Child Custody – What You Should Know
In order to properly understand child custody you need to know what types exist. Contrary to what some people believe, this topic is not as easy as just giving one parent full custody. In fact, four different child custody cases have to be discussed. Courts decide what the best one is when divorces happen. We thus deal with physical custody, sole custody, joint custody and legal custody.
Legal custody stands out as highly important. A parent with legal custody can make every decision that is connected with the needs of the child. This includes and is not limited to religion, education, health and many others. Joint legal custody tries to be awarded by most courts. It is always preferred as parents get to hold personal legal custody rights. You need to understand the importance of having both parents in the life of a child.
Physical custodies can also be awarded by courts. Basically this means that children are to live with one parent while visitation rights are given to the other one. When children spend enough time with both the father and the mother we might see joint physical custody. In this circumstance we see that both of the parents receive equal rights together with time spent with children.
Sole Custody is the one type of child custody that is the most drastic. In this case a parent will get full rights. Included you are to find both legal and physical custodies. Good news can be given as Family courts never want to eliminate parents from the life of children even in the event that one parent receives sole custody. This will only happen if we can find proof that one of the parents can not properly raise a child. Sole legal custody is really rare.
The last type of child custody is the common joint custody. This is the most common one and children will benefit the most from this if it can work properly. In the event that you are faced with any child custody case it is really important to think about hiring a lawyer. You will take place in one decision that is huge and can have a huge impact on the life of your child. Attention is adviced.