Legal Child Custody vs Physical Child Custody

The Key Differences Between Legal Child Custody vs Physical Child Custody.

If you were to rank the challenging issues of divorce or separation, child custody is most likely always going to be number when it come to being the most emotionally straining and complex. In order to get through this critical yet complex issue effectively, it’s very important to know the difference between legal custody and physical custody. Both of these forms of child custody will determine where the child or children will live as well as which parent has the decision making right and court decided authority. With this blog post, we will take a deep dive into the many differences between legal child custody and physical child custody and hopefully clear up any misunderstandings you may have had related to how each one will impact the life of the child and the lives of the parents.

First we will cover legal child custody and the rights and authority to make decisions. Legal child custody is related to a parent’s authority and responsibility to make major decisions about their child’s day to day upbringing, day to day overall welfare, and also related to their future. Decisions that cover pretty much all aspects of the child or children’s lives. These decisions include but are not limited to decisions regarding their education, religious affiliations, their healthcare, and general, overall welfare. Legal custody is not what determines where the child or children live but rather, it is related to the overall authority, rights and responsibilities of decision making. There are two types of legal child custody: sole legal custody and joint legal custody.

Sole legal custody is where one parent exclusively has the right to make all major decisions for the child or children. This is not as common as joint legal custody. Typically sole child custody occurs when one of the parents might poser a risk to the child or children’s safety and well-being. Joint legal child custody is the most common form of child custody and is a situation where decision making authority is shared. It is the optimal form of child custody in situations where both parents are able to work together in the best interest of the child or children. Legal custody arrangements are situations where it is key that patents have good communication with each other when it comes to the decisions about the children. And with certain decisions there might be disagreements. In these situations, parents may need an intermediary to get things resolved. The child or children will be living in separate households so it is also key that both parents work together to have consistency when it comes to how the child or children are being raised and the values being instilled.

Next, let’s cover physical custody. This is also called residential custody and is the determining factor of where the child or children live. It determines which parent is the primary residential provider as well as determines the parenting time or visitation from the other parent. Just like legal custody, there are also two kinds of physical custody: sole and joint. With sole custody, the child or children live with one parent and the other parent gets visitation rights. With joint custody, time is divided between both homes. This way both parents have a more equally distributed amount of parenting time. There is no one way of dividing up joint custody. It could be weekly switching, weekends vs weekdays or longer periods of time with one parent. The main consideration should always be what is in the best interest of the child or children.

Both parents should aim to do their best to make custody decisions that will set up the best outcomes for the child or children. As a divorce attorney Provo Utah, John Larsen will represent you in all key aspects of your divorce including helping you with the best custody arrangement for you and your child or children. It can get complex and emotional but we will do our best to help you navigate this for the best possible outcome and for what will be in the best interest of your child or children.