Generally, parents are awarded shared legal custody. Think of it as the default legal custody arrangement. And sometimes, shared legal custody is not in the best interest of the child. What are the issues that make the court more likely to award sole as opposed to shared legal custody?
Although this list is not exhaustive, it provides some examples of reasons that the court would designate one parent the captain of the ship. It may be abuse of the child or of the other parent. This is especially common when a divorce or custody filing is paired with a restraining order.
Full custody differs from joint custody in that a full custody arrangement grants legal and physical custody to one parent as opposed to both parents. Before you decide to pursue full custody, however, you should understand your motives. Do you want full custody to punish your child's other parent, or do you really think that they are unfit to share custody of your child? Trying to avoid having to interact with your former partner isn't an appropriate reason to seek full custody.
Family courts across the nation generally agree that joint custody is usually the best arrangement for the child. This arrangement enables the child to see both parents on a regular basis.
Unless the other parent poses a serious danger to your child and has a history that indicates a pattern of unsafe behavior, you should question your goal to win full custody. Full custody is also referred to as sole custody. In a full custody arrangement, one parent is the custodial parent, while the other parent is generally granted generous visitation rights as determined by the court. Full custody and sole custody are often used interchangeably, although there are some differences between the two custody arrangements.
An example of this would be how sole custody generally means that the non custodial parent was not awarded any visitation or custody rights at all. However, this depends on the factors present in each individual case.
As previously mentioned, courts will generally only award full custody rights under specific circumstances, such as one parent being unfit or physically unable to care for their child. In a full custody arrangement, only one parent is entrusted with responsibilities of both physical and legal custody. Physical custody refers to the periods of time in which the child is staying or living with the parent. The parent would then be responsible for matters such as:. A full custody arrangement may also grant some visitation rights.
An example of this would be how the noncustodial parent may have some short periods of visitation with the child. They may only be assuming physical custody for a short while, but the custodial parent still retains legal custody of their child. Full custody can be much more demanding when compared to other forms of custody such as shared or split custody.
This is largely due to the fact that the custodial parent is essentially assuming all responsibility for their child.
Full custody is not granted simply because one parent requests it. Rather, full custody is only granted if the family court determines that it will truly benefit the child. If you would like to obtain full custody of your child or children, some tips to consider when petitioning the court include:.
If full custody is not an option, there may be other suitable alternatives, such as:. Most consider the following factors in order to determine custody decisions :. Supreme Court has ruled that it is unconstitutional for a court to consider race when a noncustodial parent petitions for a change of custody. In Palmore v. Sidoti , U. She remarried an African American man and moved to a predominantly African American neighborhood. The father filed a request to modify custody based on the changed circumstances from the marriage and the move.
A Florida court granted the modification, but the U. Supreme Court reversed, ruling that societal stigma, especially related to race, cannot be the basis for a custody decision. When a court awards physical custody to one parent and "reasonable" visitation to the other, the parent with physical custody generally has the power to decide when and how much visitation is reasonable. In other words, unless the parents have a specific calendar or schedule, a noncustodial parent's visitation is often affected by the relationship between the parents.
When a custodial parent wants the child to have a meaningful relationship with the other parent, it's more likely that the parents will work together to ensure that there's a truly reasonable visitation arrangement. Unfortunately, an order that one parent is to have "reasonable" visitation can result in the noncustodial parent having to fight for time with the child.
To avoid this problem, many courts require parents to work out a fairly detailed parenting plan that sets the visitation schedule and outlines who has responsibility for decisions affecting the children. When parents can't agree, the court will create a schedule for the parents to follow. Standard visitation arrangements often include alternating weekends, school breaks, and holidays that occur during the school year, as well as significant visitation in the summer.
Child custody mediation is a non-adversarial process where a trained, neutral professional called a mediator meets with parents to help them reach an agreement about custody and visitation.
The mediator does not have the power to make decisions for the parties. Instead, the mediator facilitates negotiations and might suggest solutions. Mediation is confidential—what the parties say in mediation can't be used in court. Mediation is often a better option than litigation fighting it out in court for resolving custody and visitation disputes.
That's because:. Experts who have studied the effects of divorce on children universally conclude that when divorcing or separating parents can cooperate, the children suffer far less. The information provided on this site is not legal advice, does not constitute a lawyer referral service, and no attorney-client or confidential relationship is or will be formed by use of the site.
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