Legal Custody

In most cases, the parents will be required to make joint decisions in the child(ren)'s life

What is it

Physical custody refers to the parent the child is physically with. In other words, physical custody is the custody schedule. In contrast, legal custody refers to a parent's right to be involved in major decisions in the child's life, like religious upbringing, school activities, or major medical decisions. Typically, routine day-to-day decisions are made by the parent with physical custody at-the-time. Legal custody refers to big decisions that will have a long-term impact on the child's life.

50/50

The courts start from a presumption of 50/50 legal custody and joint decision-making. In most cases, even if one parent has primary physical custody, meaning they have the child most of the time, major decisions in the child's life still have to be made by both parents jointly. In some cases, courts make carve-outs though. For example, if one parent believes in the healing powers of energy crystals, the court may give the other parent that believes in medicine the right to make medical decisions.

High-Conflict

Often, the parents disagree on how to raise the child and are unable to resolve their disputes. There are a few solutions for this:

• Typically, a custody court order will require the parents defer to an expert if they disagree, such as the child's doctor or teacher.
• A parent can file a motion to have a court decide, but often the dispute is irrelevant by time you get a court date.
• If the parents can afford it, you can have the court appoint a parenting coordinator.

A parenting coordinator is the best option in most cases. These are professionals that focus on helping parents co-parent more effectively and work to resolve disputes. Additionally, the court grants the parenting coordinator the authority to make binding decisions on issues the parents disagree on. They can even bring in a parent for contempt of court if the parent doesn't comply with the parenting coordinator's decision. If you can afford one, a parenting coordinator can make prompt decisions on day-to-day disputes more effectively than a court.

Coparenting

Since it's very rare for either parent not to have any role in major decisions about the child's life, this reinforces the idea that full custody is uncommon. In most cases, you will need to coparent with your ex. Most children continue to have a relationship with both parents.