Joint Custody

When a divorcing couple has children, they must decide on a child custody plan. The two kinds of custody are physical and legal. In joint custody, neither one of the parents is given full custody rights; the parents share both types of custody. Since the parents share physical custody of the child, the child goes back and forth between parents' homes but does not permanently live with either one.

Likewise, since the parents share legal custody of the child, they both have a say in making the more significant decisions of the child's life. One of them may make a decision based on which one the child is currently staying with, but both of them are legally able to have a part in the decision-making process. Sometimes one parent is more involved in the child's life than the other parent, in which case the more involved parent is referred to as the primary custodian. Even then, however, both parents share the rights.

Factors to Consider in Joint Custody Arrangements

While the divorce process itself has a host of factors to be worked through, the difficulty of coming up with a workable parenting plan simply adds to the complexity. It should be clear why the parents want to opt for joint custody, since there are sometimes negative reasons. For example, parents may want to be awarded joint custody rights if they do not want to pay as much child support, or if they do not want to permanently decide who gets full physical custody of the child. On the other hand, the parents may have positive reasons for choosing joint custody. One example of a positive reason is if they both wish to have input in the child's life and be a part of the child's growth and learning.

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