Knowing the Difference Types of Child Custody

When you are unable to peacefully come to an agreement regarding child custody you need to become familiar with the legal terms surrounding this complicated legal process.

If you are seeking joint custody you should know that there are two types that you can seek: joint physical custody and joint legal custody. You can be awarded one or both of these types of custody.

Joint physical custody defines the amount of time that the child spends with each parent. Based on what both parties want, what the child wants and what the court thinks is best for the child involved, the amount of time can be short, such as a weekend with the other parent, or time spent equally with both. However, if you are seeking an equal amount of time with the child then it is best if the parents live near one another.

The other type of custody, joint legal custody, defines the decisions that are made for the child by the parents. These include health care, school and religious training. However they can also include major decisions like the age for dating or getting a job, methods of discipline, summer camp and extracurricular activities.

Fighting for joint custody can often be a difficult battle, but not impossible if you have a Jacksonville family lawyer on your side.  Contact our law office now!