Child Concerns – No Little Matter…Child Custody Arrangements

One of the hardest parts of a family breakdown is having to work out child custody arrangements.

The court will always try and rule in the best interests of the child, even if that goes against what one of the parents wants.

Anything to do with child custody is a truly sensitive concern for all those involved as everyone wants the best for the child or children concerned.

Emotions can run high, and the right decisions have to be made to ensure the safety and care for the child concerned is taken into consideration by all parties involved.

Whether the terms are entered through a private agreement between the parents, a consent order, or a judicial order after a child custody trial, they have to relate to the physical and legal custody of the child involved.

There are several potential physical and legal custodial arrangements that may be considered, and each court may define them slightly differently.

There is a lot of legal jargon that can confuse and upset people during this extremely difficult time...

But legal custody basically means that the parent awarded this is allowed to make long-term decisions about the child's upbringing and well-being.

Whereas physical custody differs in that it involves the determination of where a child lives daily.

So, realistically there are three kinds of joint custody arrangements for children which are:

• Sole custody - whereby a parent is awarded sole physical and legal custody over a minor by a judge, and who has exclusive rights to visitation and decision making.

This is rarely awarded as the court has to find one of the parents 'unfit' before ending their rights for visits etc. 'Unfit' may be deemed due to alcohol or drug misuse, neglect, desertion, or abuse - anything that could put the child at risk of harm.

• Primary custody - involves one parent having the majority of the physical time with the minor and the other parent having limited visitation rights. This also gives the primary parent final decision-making authority in relation to the minor.

• Joint custody - this is more complicated. Each parent is entitled to 123 or more overnights per year with the minor. Joint custody arrangements are bespoke arrangements depending on the parties involved and are growing in popularity across the USA. Joint custody means the child splits their time between the two parents' living accommodation.

This joint legal custody gives equal decision-making authority, which obviously, in reality, can become a sticky subject. This means the court may award joint physical custody but award sole legal custody to avoid potential difficulties.

There are also the visitation and custody rights of grandparents to take into consideration as well.

There is also such a thing as non-parent custody whereby the judge rules it is in the best interest of the child to live with neither parent and that they will go to live with someone more suitable.

Whatever decision is made for the child, extensive research is built into the child's family's circumstances so that the decision made is in the child's best interests.