teens with legal issues

It is common for couples that get divorced to both have the same legal rights and obligations to a child. This is commonly referred to as joint custody. Unfortunately, there may be a situation where only one of the parents is awarded custody, giving one parent total control over a child's welfare. If you are getting divorced and child custody will need to be decided, it's important to know what rights each parent can potentially have.

What Are The Rights of Custodial Parents?

A custodial parent has the legal right to a child.  They can make decisions that affect a child's housing, food, clothing, religious matters, education, and health care. That parent has exclusive rights to use whatever parenting style they decide to have with the child, and can exclude the other parent from making decisions.

If you have multiple children, it's possible for a court to separate the siblings so that they are living in different homes. This is usually if both partners do not seem fit for having custody of both children.

What Are The Rights of Non-Custodial Parents?

If a parent is not awarded custody, there are still a few rights that they retain. A non-custodial parent will have visitation rights with their child, unless the courts take it away because it is decided that one parent is not fit to visit the child. This could be because of a documented case with child abuse, or because there is a concern about emotional damage to the child from seeing the non-custodial parent. Violating the court order court result in legal ramifications, including jail time.

There are other restrictions the non-custodial parent could have regarding visitation. For example, the court may require that visitations be supervised, that visitation is limited to specific hours, or that overnight visits are not allowed.

How Does Having Joint Custody Work?

A court prefers to give both parents joint custody when possible. Both parents will have equal responsibilities and rights when deciding how to raise their child. This includes creating their own plan on how to split child related expenses, and scheduling the days that the child is at each parent's home.

Both parents must be able to prove they can provide proper care for their child financially and emotionally, and the court will even factor in the child's thoughts and feelings.

If you need help proving to the court that you are capable of taking care of your child to receive the type of custody you desire, work with a family lawyer,like those at Karp Law Offices, to help plead your case.