In the case where the parents are unable to reach a custody agreement, either parent may file formally ask the Court to issue custody orders.
Legal Custody
There are two types of custody orders: The first type is legal custody which involves decisions regarding the health, education, and welfare of the children. The other type of child custody is known as physical custody. Physical custody involves decisions as to where the children resides.
There are two (2) forms of legal custody: Sole legal custody or joint legal custody. Sole legal custody is where only one parent has the right and responsibility to make important decisions regarding your child’s health care, education, and welfare.
The parent who has been granted legal custody will make the following decisions related to the parent’s minor children:
- School or childcare
- Religious activities
- Mental health and therapeutic needs
- Healthcare and dental needs
- Sports, summer camp, vacation, and travel
- Place of residence
Physical Custody
Physical custody involves orders as to where the child resides. There are two forms of physical custody, i.e., sole physical custody or joint physical custody. Many individuals tend to think that “joint physical custody” means equal time, i.e., 50% time for each parent — when that’s not always the case. Joint physical custody means that the child shall have “significant continuous contact” with both parents.
Sole or primary custody means that the children will live with one parent the majority of the time and will visit the other parent. Even though a child spend more time on one parent’s home than the other, both parents can still share responsibility for making important decisions in their children’s lives. This can usually occur when the judge has granted joint legal custody but not joint physical custody. The parent who does not have physical custody will have regular visitations with their children.