Every time a child’s parents split up, the situation is often difficult and painful.
The child has to change schools, potentially switch homes, and adjust to a new family dynamic.
The path forward usually involves some form of child custody that requires the parents to come to an agreement, work with a judge, or go to trial.
To know what other plans we have for our children, we need to come to a mutual agreement about the type of custody we will have over them. There are different types of child custody that we will discuss.
Types of Child Custody: Legal and Physical Custody
Child custody is a legal term that refers to the guardianship of a minor child or children. Child custody can be awarded to one or both parents, a grandparent, other relatives, or even a non-relative such as a stepparent, godparent, or close family friend.
Each type of custody has its own unique set of rights and responsibilities attached to it. The type of custody that is awarded in a particular case will depend on a number of factors.
These include the child’s age, the child’s wishes (if he or she is old enough to express a preference), the relationships between the child and each parent, and each parent’s ability to provide a safe and stable home environment for the child.
There are forms that you would need to accomplish when processing child custody. One important form to be accomplished is contact order form C100.
Physical custody is when the child lives with one parent most of the time and the other parent has visitation rights.
Legal custody is when the parent has the right to make decisions about the child’s welfare, such as medical and educational decisions.
Joint Custody and Sole Custody
Joint Child custody means that both parents have legal and physical custody of the child.
Sole custody means that only one parent has legal and physical custody of the child.
Shared Custody and Split Custody
Split custody is when the children live with one parent part-time and the other parent part-time.
Shared custody is when both parents share equally in the parenting time and the decision-making for the child.
Co-Parenting and Equal Parenting
Co-parenting is when both parents share legal and physical custody of the child or children. This means that they both have a say in the decisions made about the child and they both have an equal amount of time with the child.
Equal parenting is when one parent has sole custody of the child, but the other parent still has visitation rights. This means that the parent with custody makes all the decisions about the child, but the other parent still gets to spend time with the child.
Primary Custody and Secondary Custody
Primary custody is when one parent has the majority of the time with the child, and the other parent has visitation rights.
Secondary custody is when both parents have equal time with the child.
Get Help From the Experts
There are many different types of child custody that exist today. Each type of child custody has its own benefits and drawbacks. It is important to choose the type of child custody that is best for your child.
Speak with a lawyer to learn more about your child custody options and to make sure that you are making the best choices for your child.
Did you find this article helpful? Check out the rest of our website for more great content!