- "Child custody, conservatorship and guardianship describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent and the parent's child, such as the right of the parent to make decisions for the child, and the parent's duty to care for the child."
Legal responsibility for the care and control of a child after divorce or separation.
Legal and physical custody: The distinction between the two types of custody, and how they relate to each other.
Child custody agreements: The elements of an effective child custody agreement, including time-sharing schedules, decision-making authority, and communication protocols.
Child support: The factors used to determine a child support payment, as well as the laws and regulations that govern child support.
Guardianship: The legal process for appointing a guardian for a child, and the rights and responsibilities that come with the role.
Visitation rights: The legal rights of non-custodial parents to spend time with their children, as well as the limitations on those rights.
Parental relocation: The legal process for relocating a child to a different city, state, or country, and the factors used to determine whether it is in the child's best interests.
Domestic violence: The impact of domestic violence on child custody and visitation decisions, as well as the resources available to victims.
Parental alienation: The impact of parental alienation on child custody decisions, and the legal strategies used to address it.
Mental health and substance abuse: The impact of mental health and substance abuse issues on child custody and visitation decisions, and the resources available for families.
Mediation and alternative dispute resolution: The role of mediation and other alternative dispute resolution methods in child custody cases, and the benefits and limitations of each approach.
Physical Custody: This type of custody determines where the child will live and who will take care of their day-to-day needs.
Legal Custody: This type of custody determines who will make major decisions for the child, such as medical and educational decisions.
Sole Custody: This type of custody is granted to one parent and gives them both physical and legal custody of the child.
Joint Custody: This type of custody is where both parents share custody of the child, with each having specific rights and responsibilities.
Split Custody: This type of custody is where two or more children from the same family are split between the parents.
Bird's Nest Custody: This type of custody involves the child staying in one family home while the parents rotate in and out based on a predetermined schedule.
Third-Party Custody: This type of custody is given to a non-parent, such as a grandparent or other family member.
Temporary Custody: This type of custody is awarded when a parent is unable to care for the child for a short period of time.
Physical Custody with Supervision: This type of custody is awarded when one parent has a history of substance abuse or domestic violence, and the court orders that their visits with the child be supervised.
Unsupervised Custody: This type of custody allows the non-custodial parent to have unsupervised access to their child.
- "Custody issues typically arise in proceedings involving divorce, as well as in paternity, annulment, and other legal proceedings in which children are involved."
- "In most jurisdictions, the issue of with which parent the child will reside is determined in accordance with the best interests of the child standard."
- "In rare cases, custody may be awarded to somebody other than a parent, but only after the fundamental right afforded to biological parent's has been overcome or where the third party has an established role that is in the manner of a parent."
- "When a child's parents are not married, it is necessary to establish paternity before issues of child custody or support may be determined by a court."
- "Family law proceedings that involve issues of custody and visitation often generate the most acrimonious disputes."
- "In extreme cases, one parent may accuse the other of trying to 'turn' the child(ren) against him or her, allege some form of emotional, physical, or even sexual abuse by the other parent, the 'residential' parent may disrupt the other parent's contact or communication with the child(ren), or a parent may remove the child from the jurisdiction in violation of court orders, so as to frustrate the other parent's contact with the children."
- "Courts and legal professionals within the U.S. may use terms such as 'parenting time' instead of custody and visitation."
- "The goal of the newer, alternative terminology is to eliminate the distinction between custodial and noncustodial parents and to better focus on the best interests of the children."
- "Crafting schedules that meet the developmental needs of the children. For example, small children may need shorter, more frequent time with parents, whereas older children and teenagers can tolerate and may demand less frequent shifts, but longer blocks of time with each parent."