While many parents cooperate in sharing custody of their children, not all do. In those instances, where parents are unable to come to an agreement over custody, one or both parents can petition the court for its intervention.
Types of Custody
Primary Physical Custody: When a parent has the children more than 50% of overnights, he or she has primary physical custody.
Joint Custody is broken down into three categories:
- Joint Legal Custody - The child has one primary residence and the parents share the care and control of the child’s upbringing.
- Shared Physical Custody - The child has two residences, with at least 35% of their time with one of the parents.
- Parents can make their own special agreement that can be any combination of shared physical and joint legal custody. The courts look very closely at joint custody agreements to ensure the best interests of the child are taken into consideration. Whether or not the parents are able to talk about and/or reach joint decisions that affect the child will be taken into consideration by the court.
Partial Custody: When a parent has the child less than 50% of overnights, he or she has partial custody.
