Basics About Child Custody

Divorcing parents soon learn that children custody rights are often divided into two categories: legal custody and physical custody. Legal custody is the right to make major decisions about the children while physical custody is the right to have the children live with you. Legal and physical custody are each divided into two more categories: sole and joint. Sole assigns the right to one parent exclusively while joint shares the right between parents. While there is no consensus regarding which arrangement is best, those who argue for joint legal and physical custody point out that the children are the ones who suffer the most when parents divorce. By equally sharing child-care responsibilities, joint custody reduces stresses that may harm children.