Custody battles are an unfortunate part of some divorces and family law disputes. Stockton families that are forced to break up due to the dissolutions of the parents’ relationships often must face challenging arrangements that pull kids from one household to another in their post-separation lives. These arrangements can pit parents against each other with regard to decisions concerning the children’s upbringings. Due to these challenges, some parents look to gain sole custody of their children.
Sole custody and joint custody are the two overarching forms of custody that parents can receive. Sole and joint custody can apply to legal custody matters as well as physical custody matters. In a sole legal custody arrangement, one parent has exclusive rights to make decisions about a child’s well-being. In sole physical custody situations, children live primarily with one of their parents and may have visitation with the other parent.
If parents fight about the details of their children’s lives it can be advantageous to one parent to have the exclusive legal right to make decisions about the schooling, health care and religious affiliations of their kids. Similarly, if parents live in different locations and it is challenging for the parents to frequently move the kids from home to home, granting one parent sole physical custody of the children can save the hassle of frequent moves.
The benefits of sole custody can be wide-reaching, but there are also disadvantages, particularly to those who do not receive it. For example, a noncustodial parent’s visitation with his or her child may be limited, drastically affecting his or her relationship with his or her child.
Child custody is a challenging legal balancing act that puts the best interests of children first. Parents may be granted sole or joint custody with regard to the physical and legal matters associated with their kids. To learn more about these important family law matters, interested parties can work with family law attorneys to better understand how custody matters could be impacted by specific factual scenarios.
