Is a sole or joint custody agreement the best one for your child and your custody situation? To help you decide, this post looks at the main differences between a sole and joint agreement so that you can see what type of arrangement better suits your needs.
Sole Child Custody Agreements
There are two types of custody, physical and legal, so a sole custody agreement can mean a couple of different things. Physical custody refers to the actual time that each parent has with the children. Legal custody refers to the authority that parents have to make decisions and have responsibility over the children. If one parent has sole physical custody then the child lives primarily with that parent and has visitation with the other parent. If a parent is given sole legal custody over the child, it means that the parent has the right to make all legal decisions for the child. This includes making decisions about education, medical care, religion, etc.
When people use the phrase sole custody agreement, they generally mean a situation where one parent has sole physical custody (so, the child lives with that parent). Sometimes a parent is give sole legal custody, but that doesn’t happen as frequently. When a parent has sole physical custody, the custody agreement will have a sole custody schedule. With this type of schedule, the child spends the majority of time with one parent (usually called the custodial parent) and has visits to the other parent (the non-custodial parent). Some common sole custody schedules include: visitation to the non-custodial parent every weekend, visits every other weekend, weekday visits in addition to weekend visits, etc.
Generally, the non-custodial parent will pay child support to the custodial parent. This is to balance the financial obligation between the two parents. Since one parent is physically taking care of the child more, the other parent must contribute by providing money.
Parents with sole custody agreements need to work out the issues with visitation. They need to decide how to handle transportation for the visits, how to make changes to the visitation schedule, if they want the right of first refusal, etc. The right of first refusal occurs when a parent is not able to care for the child during their appointed time. Instead of finding other child care, the parent must offer the time to the other parent first.
Some states have a preference for a joint custody agreement, so in these states a parent who wants a sole agreement must be prepared to show why it is better for the child.
Joint Child Custody Agreements
When the parents share physical and legal custody they have a joint custody agreement. This means that each parent has the child living with them for a significant amount of time (although, not necessarily exactly half of the time). With a joint agreement, the mother and father are both very involved in raising the child.
One parent may still pay child support in a joint arrangement. The parents also agree to share the other expenses that come up with the child. A joint agreeement should specify how the parents will handle the finances of raising the child. Parents can also add provisions that can help the plan work more smoothly. They may need to have provisions about resolving disputes, making changes to the plan, handling transportation for exchanges, etc.
Some states have a preference for joint custody. If this is the case, the court will look more favorably on a joint custody agreement.