Child Custody and Visitation
Child
Custody plans may be ordered by a judge or privately agreed to by
parties with their agreement becoming the order. The parties’ agreements
tend to be more successful, and beneficial, when the parents negotiate
and work together to create a plan that allows for the best possible
outcome for their child based on their knowledge of how they work
together as parents and based on the needs of their child(ren). The
Family Court throughout the state of California encourage and support
that the parents work together to craft a plan best suited to their
specific needs and capabilities regarding the raising of and the support
of their child(ren). As part of the family-law legal process, the Court
requires that the parties first meet and confer and attempt to resolve
their issues privately before asking the Court to resolve their
dispute(s).
Legal custody is the authority to make decisions about
the child(ren)’s health, education and welfare. Physical custody
pertains to where the child(ren) lives.
Joint Legal Custody
Joint
legal custody means that both parents have the right to make decisions
regarding their child(ren)’s health, education, and welfare, jointly or
individually. Joint legal custody includes those decisions that are the
most significant in a child’s life, such as which school to attend,
psychotherapy, elective medical procedures. Unless there is an order to
the contrary, either parent may independently make decisions behalf of
the child on how the child will cared for and on such items as the
education and elective medical treatment the child will receive.
Sole Legal Custody
Sole
legal custody is granted to one parent, the custodial parent, who will
solely decide the child(ren)’s health, education, and welfare. The
non-custodial parent does not have rights to make decisions regarding
the child’s health, education and welfare but may continue to have the
rights to obtain medical and educational records at the discretion of
the Court and/or receive notices about the custodial parent’s decisions.
Joint Physical
Custody
Physical custody is granted to the parent with whom the child(ren)
lives. Joint physical custody is based on the Court’s decision that the
child has two homes, not one home with one parent and liberal visitation
with the other parent. Or, joint physical custody may be stipulated to
by the parents. A joint physical custodial arrangement does not require
that the child(ren)’s time with each parent be equally shared by the
parents, as in a “50:50" arrangement. The division of time between
parents may be other than equal. The effect of joint custody on a
parent’s right to relocate with the child(ren) can best be explained to
you by your attorney.
Sole Physical Custody
Sole physical
custody is granted to one parent, the custodial parent, and visitation
rights are granted to the noncustodial parent. The issue of physical
custody is important in move-away cases when the custodial parent wishes
to change the custodial plan by moving away with the child(ren). The
noncustodial, nonmoving parent has the burden of demonstrating that the
relocation is detrimental to the child. The effect of sole custody on a
parent’s right to relocate with the child(ren) can best be explained to
you by your attorney.
No comments:
Post a Comment