Child custody facts for kids
Child custody is a legal term about who takes care of a child. It describes the official and everyday relationship between a parent or guardian and a child.
Child custody has two main parts:
- Legal custody: This is about who gets to make important decisions for the child.
- Physical custody: This is about where the child lives and who looks after them day-to-day.
Usually, when parents are married, they share both legal and physical custody of their children. Decisions about child custody often come up when parents get a divorce, separate, or when a parent passes away. In most places, these decisions are made based on what is best for the child. This is called the "best interests of the child" standard.
Many countries have signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Because of this, some places now use terms like "parental responsibility" or "residence" and "contact" instead of "custody" and "access." So, instead of a parent having "custody," a child might be said to "reside" or have "contact" with a parent.
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Legal custody
Legal custody is about the rights parents have to make big life decisions for their children. These decisions can include choosing the child's school, doctor, medical treatments, or even their religion.
Legal custody can be:
- Joint: Both parents share the right to make these important decisions together.
- Sole: Only one parent has the right to make these key decisions, without needing the other parent's agreement.
Physical custody
Physical custody decides where a child lives. It also determines who makes the daily choices for the child. If a parent has physical custody, their home is usually the child's official home. The time a child spends living with each parent is set out in a court-ordered plan. This is often called a parenting schedule or parenting plan.
Forms of physical custody
There are different ways physical custody can be set up:
- Sole custody: The child lives with only one parent. The other parent, called the non-custodial parent, usually has regular time to visit the child.
- Joint physical custody: Both parents share time with the child. The child lives with each parent for roughly equal amounts of time. Both parents are considered custodial parents.
- Bird's nest custody: This is a type of joint physical custody. The child always stays in the same home. The parents are the ones who move back and forth between that home and another place. This way, the child doesn't have to keep moving.
- Split custody: If there is more than one child, one parent might have sole custody of some children, and the other parent has sole custody of the other children.
- Third-party custody: Sometimes, children do not live with either biological parent. Instead, they are placed in the care of another person, like a grandparent or other relative.
Joint physical custody
Joint physical custody, also known as shared parenting, means a child lives with both parents. They spend about equal amounts of time at each parent's home. In this setup, both parents are considered custodial parents. Terms like "primary custodial parent" are not used. Instead, the time the child spends with each parent is planned out in a court-ordered parenting plan or custody schedule.
Sole custody
Sole physical custody means a child lives with only one parent. The other parent might have the right to visit the child. The parent the child lives with is called the custodial parent. The other parent is called the non-custodial parent.
The "best interest" rule
When courts make decisions about child custody, they use the "best interest" rule. This means all choices are made to make sure the child is happy, safe, and generally well. Many things are considered when deciding what is best for a child. These include:
- The child's health and social life.
- The relationship each parent has with the child.
- How well each parent can meet the child's needs.
Laws about child custody can be different in various countries.
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