The Different Types Of Child Custody In Boyertown, PA

If you are going through a situation over child custody in Boyertown, PA, it is likely a very stressful time in your life. Making sure that you have a great lawyer who is experienced in child custody in Boyertown, PA is a smart move that will make going through this potentially miserable experience a little easier and less stressful. Although you may soon find that child custody in Boyertown, PA is a complex issue and can be quite a long, complicated process, the very most basic types of child custody are legal custody, physical custody, which may be awarded as sole custody or joint custody.

First, legal custody refers to the right of one parent in sole legal custody situations, or of both parents, in joint legal custody arrangements, to make legal and otherwise significant decisions on behalf of the child or children. Some of these decisions include religious, educational, and choices regarding the child’s medical care. Several courts in several states throughout the country frequently award joint legal custody so that both parents take part in making these important decisions on behalf of their child or children.

Second, physical custody involves the child living with one or the other parent. This is referred to as sole physical custody, where the child lives primarily with one parent and has visitation rights with the other. In many cases regarding child custody in Boyertown, PA, however, the judge may grant joint physical custody to both parents. In joint physical custody, the child spend significant amounts of time with both parents. If a child lives with his or her mother Sunday through Wednesday every week and lives with the father the remaining time, this would be considered a joint physical custody situation.

As mentioned briefly above, sole custody simply means that one parent is primarily responsible for the child or children, with either legal custody, or the right to make decisions for the child, or joint custody, or the right to have the child live primarily with them. Sole custody will likely be awarded to one parent when the court deems the other parent unfit due to a substance abuse problem, suspicions of child abuse or neglect, or if the parent is with a partner who is deemed unfit.

Joint custody, as mentioned previously, means that either both parents live with the child for a significant amount of time, or both make decisions regarding the child’s medical care, religion, and/or education. In situations where both parents can cooperate for the common interests of the child, joint legal and physical custody is the preferred arrangement, and this is known as co-parenting.