Sole or Joint Custody Agreement - What Should You Choose?
Deciding what style of custody agreement is right for your child and custody situation can be difficult.
Let's explore the main variances between sole and joint agreements to give a better idea or which agreement will suit your situation best.
Sole Child Custody Agreements There are two different types custody, legal and physical.
A sole custody agreement may determine a few things.
Legal custody refers to any authority parents have to make decisions and have responsibility for a child.
Physical custody refers to actual time each parent has to spend with a child.
One parent may have sole physical custody of a child, which means the child's primary care and residence is with that parent.
If a parent has sole legal custody of a child, that parent has the right to make all legal decisions for the child including decisions about medical care, religious beliefs and education.
When the phrase "sole custody agreement" is used, it usually involves a situation where one parent has sole physical custody.
Occasionally, a parent has sole legal custody, but that does not happen often.
If a parent has sole physical custody of a child, the child spends most of his or her time with one parent (aka custodial parent) and has visitation with the other parent (aka non-custodial parent).
A sole custody agreement negates the need to work out issues of visitation.
Issues such as how transportation is handled for visits, how changes are made to the visitation schedule, if the right of first refusal should be a part of the agreement are all issues that should be addressed.
Joint Child Custody Agreements A joint agreement is made when parents share legal and physical custody of their child.
Each parent cares and has the child in their home for a significant amount of time (though it may not be split equally).
As part of a joint agreement, both parents are involved in raising the child.
One parent may pay child support as part of a joint arrangement and both parents agree to share other expenses for their child.
An effective joint agreement should detail how finances of raising the child is handled.
There may also be provisions that help the plan work more effectively.
Provisions may include information about how to resolve disputes, how changes are made to the agreement and how transportation is worked out.
With this information, you can now decide how your agreement and visitation schedules work.
Be a great parent and use the agreement to its full potential.
Let's explore the main variances between sole and joint agreements to give a better idea or which agreement will suit your situation best.
Sole Child Custody Agreements There are two different types custody, legal and physical.
A sole custody agreement may determine a few things.
Legal custody refers to any authority parents have to make decisions and have responsibility for a child.
Physical custody refers to actual time each parent has to spend with a child.
One parent may have sole physical custody of a child, which means the child's primary care and residence is with that parent.
If a parent has sole legal custody of a child, that parent has the right to make all legal decisions for the child including decisions about medical care, religious beliefs and education.
When the phrase "sole custody agreement" is used, it usually involves a situation where one parent has sole physical custody.
Occasionally, a parent has sole legal custody, but that does not happen often.
If a parent has sole physical custody of a child, the child spends most of his or her time with one parent (aka custodial parent) and has visitation with the other parent (aka non-custodial parent).
A sole custody agreement negates the need to work out issues of visitation.
Issues such as how transportation is handled for visits, how changes are made to the visitation schedule, if the right of first refusal should be a part of the agreement are all issues that should be addressed.
Joint Child Custody Agreements A joint agreement is made when parents share legal and physical custody of their child.
Each parent cares and has the child in their home for a significant amount of time (though it may not be split equally).
As part of a joint agreement, both parents are involved in raising the child.
One parent may pay child support as part of a joint arrangement and both parents agree to share other expenses for their child.
An effective joint agreement should detail how finances of raising the child is handled.
There may also be provisions that help the plan work more effectively.
Provisions may include information about how to resolve disputes, how changes are made to the agreement and how transportation is worked out.
With this information, you can now decide how your agreement and visitation schedules work.
Be a great parent and use the agreement to its full potential.
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