Child custody laws can really vary greatly from one state to the next. Some states have specific guidelines that the courts are instructed to follow when trying to determine who gets custody of a child, while other states have few or no guidelines that judges have to adhere to. There are few federal laws that deal with child custody. There are laws among the states that help to determine which state has jurisdiction in a particular child custody case, although not all of the states have even agreed to adopt this law.

Child custody laws are designed, in theory, with the best interests of the child or children in mind. Child custody laws, for example, may prohibit a parent from being granted custody if that parent has a history of child abuse or child endangerment. In many states, the law indicates that the preferred child custody arrangement is a joint custody arrangement, where both parents share both legal and physical custody.

To understand these child custody laws, it is important to understand the difference between legal child custody and physical child custody. Legal child custody refers to the right and the responsibility to make important decisions for a child. This would include decisions that relate to areas such as medical care, education, and general well-being. Most of the time, child custody laws aim for a situation in which the parents have joint legal custody.

Physical child custody is different. Physical child custody refers to the place that the child lives. When a child lives most of the time with one parent rather than the other, then that parent has physical custody. A joint physical custody arrangement is one in which the child or children may spend roughly half of their time with each of the parents. The child custody laws vary from state to state on joint physical custody, with some states defining it as roughly equal time, and others indicating that as little as 1/3 time can be considered joint physical custody.

Posted in Child Custody

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