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Child custody is one of the most contentious aspects of family law. If you’ve never been a party to a custody matter before, you may not know that there are actually two distinct types of custody: legal and physical. Understanding the differences is critical to making your strongest case for a custody order that is in your child’s best interests. The Middlesex County family law firm of LaFountain & Wollman P.C. take a closer look at this issue and what you need to know.
Legal Custody
Legal custody concerns the right of the parent or parents to make major decisions for the child. These are not mundane decisions such as what to eat for dinner or whether to visit the zoo or the aquarium during parenting time. Rather, the decisions that are covered by legal custody are far more substantive and consequential for the child. These generally concern such matters as the child’s religious upbringing, healthcare, and education.
Physical Custody
In contrast to decision-making on significant matters, physical custody is concerned with whom the child resides and spends time. In other words, where will the child physically be during the week, during holidays and vacations, and on other special occasions? Although one parent may be given physical custody of the child, the courts will likely allow the other to have reasonable visitation (see below).
How Are Legal Custody and Physical Custody Shared Between Parents?
Massachusetts recognizes four types of custody arrangements which incorporate both legal and physical custody:
- Sole legal custody: In this situation, one parent is granted the right and responsibility to make major decisions about the child such as those mentioned above.
- Shared legal custody: Both parents will be involved in and responsible for major decisions affecting the child. Typically, courts prefer shared legal custody over sole legal custody.
- Sole physical custody: Under this arrangement, the child resides with one parent and the other parent is given reasonable parenting time or visitation. This parenting time may be supervised or unsupervised, depending on the circumstances. However, visitation may be denied if it would not be in the child’s best interests.
- Shared physical custody: Generally preferred by courts, shared physical custody permits a child to have periods when he or she lives with both parents. This allows the child to have frequent, regular contact with both parents and is usually viewed as beneficial to the child’s development.
How Does a Court Decide Legal and Physical Custody?
A court’s custody decisions – for both legal and physical custody – must be in the child’s best interests. Every custody case is different so the judge must evaluate each one on its individual merits. The judge will look for evidence that either parent is unfit to make decisions for and spend time with the child.
With respect to legal custody, a proven history of a parent’s poor choices may argue strongly in favor of the other parent having sole legal custody. On the other hand, if it can be demonstrated that both parents are capable of making sound decisions for the child, then the court will likely allow shared legal custody.
Physical custody often tends to be more contested between the parents because both want to spend as much time with the child as possible, and physical custody impacts child support. Various factors, however, could render a parent unfit to either have custody of the child or even parenting time (visitation). For instance, drug or alcohol abuse, a history of domestic violence, and an unstable living situation will work against a parent who wants more time with the child.
Making Your Best Case for Child Custody
Because child custody matters are so fact-specific, it is imperative to your rights as a parent that you retain an experienced family law attorney. Count on LaFountain & Wollman P.C. We can review the circumstances in your case and then get to work arguing for the legal and physical custody arrangements that are right for your child. Contact us today.