It is very common for parents to have questions about where a child will live as they go through a divorce. Both parents likely want to have some amount of parenting time and access to their child. This is often solved simply by splitting up physical custody rights so that the child lives with each parent at different times, with a predetermined schedule telling both the child and the parents who should have custody.
But many people make the mistake of thinking that this is all a child custody plan needs to address. It is true that the living situation is important, but that is just a physical custody issue. During a divorce, parents will also need to split up legal custody rights.
How is legal custody different?
Legal custody refers to decision-making abilities, rather than physical living situations.
For instance, married parents will sometimes have to make decisions about what school to enroll their child in, what religion to bring them up in, or what type of medical care they should get from their pediatrician when they are very young.
After a divorce, someone still needs to make all of these decisions for the child as long as they are a minor. Legal custody rights define which parent gets to do so. If one parent is given sole legal custody, then it is their responsibility alone to make these decisions. If both parents are given joint legal custody, then they are required to work together, which may mean that they sometimes need to compromise, if they do not agree, to find joint solutions.
Your custody rights
If you are going through a divorce, it is imperative that you understand your custody rights, both in terms of parenting time and decision-making power. It can help to work with an experienced law firm as your divorce case moves forward.