For parents who go through divorce, one of the most important decisions to make is how to divide custody rights. When they have a child together, they want to know how they are going to be involved with their child after the divorce. Some of this is practical, as the child simply needs a place to live, but it is also highly emotional. Parents want to maintain that relationship and stay in their child’s life.
While making these decisions, there are two main areas to think about: legal custody and physical custody.
How are they different?
Physical custody is easiest to understand, and it is often what people think of first. A child may live with both parents at different times, moving back and forth between their homes. In some cases, a child will live in one house all of the time, but the parents will move in and out. This is known as birdnesting. Either way, it just determines where the child physically lives and which parent lives with them at which times.
Legal custody, on the other hand, has nothing to do with where the child lives and everything to do with who can make decisions on their behalf. What vaccines should they get from their pediatrician? What type of healthcare is authorized? What school should they enroll in? What religion should they be brought up in? When and where should they open bank accounts or other financial accounts? A parent who has legal custody has the ability to make these decisions and many more.
Your legal rights
When splitting either legal or physical custody, you need to be sure that you understand all of your parental rights and the legal steps you can take to protect them.