Dustin McCrary Divorce Lawyer Defines The Main Factors of Child Custody In NC

Dustin S. McCrary is a child custody and divorce attorney practicing in the Statesville, NC area. Because of the seriousness and emotional issues child custody can involve, McCrary wants to make sure those in such a situation have as much information about divorce, child custody and its ramifications.

For more detailed information the entire article can be read at: https://mccrarylaw.com/articles/what-should-i-know-about-child-custody

Of all the issues that couples find themselves facing during a divorce, child custody is often the most emotional, and to the majority of couples, the most important. This is entirely understandable – after all, there is nothing more valuable or cherished in life than the people we love. As a result, more than any other issue, couples who are divorcing want to understand what is involved in making a child custody determination.

We commonly receive questions about different types of custody arrangements, how judges handle child custody cases in the courtroom, what might prevent you from getting custody of your children, and various visitation options. While the information provided here is certainly no substitute for personally consulting with your attorney, it is our hope that it will be helpful, as you consider what child custody arrangements might best suit your family.

There can be a wide variety of custody arrangements, which, of course will vary depending upon the unique circumstances and needs of each family.  It is important to understand the various factors that courts use in making custody decisions, even if you ultimately end up entering into an agreement with your spouse prior to the matter ever reaching a courtroom.  This is because regardless of whether a court makes the decision, many of the factors that it considers can be helpful for you to consider as well in creating an agreement that fits your family’s needs.

Before you can thoroughly understand what might be the best custody arrangement for your family, it can be helpful to have an understanding of the two primary components of custody – physical and legal custody. 

Physical custody refers to where the children will actually, physically reside, while legal custody refers to who will make the decisions affecting the aspects of the children’s lives. These may, for example, be decisions about things like education, religious upbringing, involvement in extracurricular activities, medical care, and other important decisions.

Parents may share physical and legal custody in any number of ways. Some of the most common custody arrangements include:

Joint Legal Custody: Depending upon the circumstances of the couple, it might make the most sense in some instances for a custody agreement to specify a “primary residence” for the children, which essentially means that the parent who lives in that home will have “primary physical custody” of the children – that is, they reside there physically for the majority of the time.

Even when this is the case, however, the parents can still share joint legal custody of the children, share equally in the decision-making process regarding their children. In this situation, a couple should also designate specific parenting time during which the parent that does not have primary physical custody gets to have the children at his or her residence as well.

Joint Physical Custody: In this type of custody arrangement, the children have two primary addresses, and move between them according to a schedule decided by the parents. Generally, the parents try to ensure that the children spend roughly the same amount of time at each residence. The parents might exchange the children every other week, or every other month, depending upon what is best for their family. In these situations, the parties almost always share joint legal custody as well.

Sole Custody: In a sole custody arrangement, only one parent is granted custody of the child, from both a physical and a legal standpoint. This means that the parent who has sole custody is responsible for all of the decisions with respect to the child, and the child resides with that parent all of the time. Typically, sole custody without any sort of regular visitation is a rarity today.

Although these are the broad categories of custody arrangements, couples today are fortunate in having the leeway to truly determine almost any custody arrangement that might be best for their family’s lifestyle and circumstances. In fact, the majority of parents do decide to agree upon their custody arrangement together, in a separation or parenting agreement, rather than leaving it to the court.

At The Law Office of Dustin McCrary, helping families make it through the divorce

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Created on Mar 5th 2021 09:16. Viewed 339 times.

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