Types of Child Custody Arrangements

If you are going through a divorce and you have children with your spouse, you probably know that child custody arrangements will have to be made. Usually the judge determines the details of the child custody arrangements based on certain criteria. For instance, they take into account the child's age, the emotional ties between the child and their parents, the parent's ability to provide for the child and much more. Once they have taken these things into account, they will create child custody arrangements. Here are the different types of child custody arrangements and how they work.

Types of Custody

The two different types of custody include physical custody and legal custody. Physical custody simply states that the parent has the right for the child to live with him or her. This parent's home will be the primary home. Legal custody means that the parent has the responsibility to make all decisions for the child - such as medical decisions, what school they go to and everything else. There are instances when both parents share these types of custody - such as when a child lives with one parent during half of the year and the other for the remainder of the year.

Sole Custody

In certain cases, one parent is given sole physical or sole legal custody of the child. This means that they and only they have the right to make the decisions for the child. This could happen when one parent is deemed unfit or is deceased. Of course, if a parent is deemed unfit, they may have chances in the future for visitation and parental rights.

Child Visitation

Usually the parent who does not have physical custody will be given visitation rights which will either be determined by the judge or left up to the parents to decide. There are many different types of child visitations, and the most common is reasonable visitation. This is where the parent who does not retain physical or legal custody is allowed to spend a reasonable amount of time with their child. They may have the child on weekends, every other weekend, holidays or over the summer.

Supervised visitations may be given to a parent who has been deemed unfit or a risk to the child in some way. This usually involves a member of the court, an attorney, police officer or third party to watch over the visitation to ensure that the environment is safe and that the situation remains calm. Supervised visitations may be given for an hour a week, a few hours two days a week or any other time that the judge sees fit to schedule.

While child custody arrangements can get sticky and can often be heartbreaking, the truth is that they are a necessary part of a divorce. If you have been given a child custody arrangement that you feel is unfair, you can speak with your lawyer about appealing the judgment and getting a new arrangement. By understanding the different types of arrangements, you may have a better chance of getting an arrangement that you feel is fair and allows adequate time for you to visit your child.