Physical custody rights typically address where a child is going to live at any given time. Coparents will often have joint physical custody, for example, where parenting time and responsibilities are split between them. Parents have days when they have custody and are responsible for raising the child, but they also have days off when the child is with their ex.
Legal custody rights work a bit differently. They address making decisions on the child’s behalf. In this sense, a parent can still have legal custody rights even if the child is not physically with them at the time.
What decisions need to be made?
Parents often have to make a variety of important decisions for their child as they grow up, including:
- Which pediatrician they should see or what type of medical care they should receive
- Which religious environment they should be exposed to, if any
- Which school the child should be enrolled in or when the child should be transferred from one school system to another
Joint physical custody rights mean that parents have to share time with the child, and joint legal custody rights mean that they have to work together to make these decisions.
This can naturally lead to conflicts. Parents may disagree over what the best type of medical care is for their child, or they may have different opinions about what school system to enroll the child in for the upcoming school year. When these conflicts arise, it is very important for them to understand their custody rights and the legal steps they need to take to find a compromise or a resolution.
