Custody Laws
Custody Laws
Understanding Custody laws / Custody laws explained
Every state in the US has different guidelines and laws when it comes to child custody. We will discus some of the most frequently asked questions about custody laws, that is: definitions of custody, the types of custody, how child custody is determined, child support, and noncustodial parent and grandparents visitation rights.
What is child custody?
Child custody laws refer to the legal and practical relationship between a parent and their child, including the parent’s obligation to take care of the child and make decisions concerning his or hers life. Practically speaking, the parent who has custody of the child lives with him or her, is responsible for his education, health state and overall wellbeing.
Types of child custody
Physical custody
Physical custody refers to the right of the custodial parent to live with the child. Physical custody has definite impact on child support, so its important to understand those consideration. In some states, divorce judges may award joint physical custody to both parents, if their child spends significant amounts of time with both of them. This type of custody agreement works best if the divorcing parents live close to one another, so the child may have a similar routine as he or she did before the parents divorced.
If only one of the parents gets physical custody of the child, the other parent will be awarded visitation rights.
Legal custody
Legal custody means having the right to make decisions about the child’s life. This includes areas like schooling, religion or medical care. Some states award parents joint legal custody, which means both parents make decisions regarding their child. Joint legal custody is preferred in most states, but if one parent feels that it’s in the child’s best interest for the other parent not to be involved in their life, they should convince the family court to award them sole legal custody. There has recently been a lot of high profile celebrity divorce involving children, so its important to understand this area carefully.
Sole custody
Having sole custody means that only one parent has either legal or physical custody of the child. Courts usually award sole custody if one of the parents is considered unfit, due to alcohol or drug abuse, child neglect or other similar issues.
Joint custody
Divorced parents, who no longer live together but make joint decisions about their child’s life, are considered to have joint custody.
Child support laws
Child support is an amount of money that the noncustodial parent has to pay to the custodial parent as a contribution to the child’s upbringing. Each state’s family court has its own child support award system. There are many criteria used to decide on the amount and duration of child support. Most courts take into account the income of the parents, the living expenses, school fees, the number of children living at home and their ages. The duration of child support also varies from state to state, but basically ends when the child reaches the age of majority, is employed or joins the military.
Visitation rights
If one of the parents is awarded sole legal or physical rights, the other non custodial parent is entitled to visitation rights. The court usually determines “reasonable visitation rights” but leaves the parents to work out the specific schedule and times of visitation. The custodial parent usually has more control when it comes to setting the dates, times and duration of visits.
Parents who have a history of violent behavior will only be granted supervised visitation rights, if the custodial parent requires so.
Grandparents are also given the right to visit their grandchild. All 50 states have “grandparent visitation statutes” and legal rights to maintain the relationship with the child will be granted upon request.
The biggest point here is DO YOUR HOMEWORK on the custody laws specific to your State and your situation. Not knowing them can cost you your children!
