“Child Custody” is a collection of various legal rights to care for a child and make major decisions about that child’s life. These various legal rights – physical custody, legal custody, joint custody, and sole custody – are described below.
“Custodian” is the person to whom a court grants custodial rights. This may be a parent or another person, as a court may deem appropriate.
“Physical Custody” is the parent or custodian’s right to have a child live with the parent or custodian. The person with physical custody may make decisions about the routine day‐to‐day activities of the child.
“Legal Custody” is the right to make decisions about the child’s upbringing. A person with legal custody may make decisions about how to raise the child, including decisions about schooling, religion and/or medical care.
“Sole Custody” is when one parent has all the custodial rights. This could be sole physical custody, sole legal custody or both.
Note: In a number of states, courts will not award sole custody to one parent unless the court deems that the other parent is “unfit,” meaning the parent is not capable of caring for the child. Examples of being “unfit” include a parent’s alcohol or drug dependency or history of child abuse. Also, even if a court awards sole physical custody to one parent, it may still grant visitation rights to the other parent.
“Joint Custody” is an arrangement where both parents share custodial rights of their child. It may be joint physical custody, joint legal custody or both. Courts in some states regularly award joint legal custody, which means that both parents share the right to make decisions about a child’s upbringing.
“Legal Guardian” is a person — other than the child’s parent — who is granted the legal right to care for and make certain decisions for a child by court order or another process accepted by the state. For example, some states allow a parent to name a guardian through signing a document without court involvement. Other states require a petition to be filed for guardianship and place duties on the guardian, such as regular reporting to the court on the child’s well-being.
“Visitation” or “Parenting Time” is a legal right granted by the court that gives a parent or others the right to spend periods of time with the child. A person granted visitation rights may not have the right to make major decisions about the child’s wellbeing or upbringing depending on what the court orders. Once a court determines visitation rights, all parents and custodians are bound by the court’s order. Visitation rights often can only be changed by a new court order.
Visitation rules may vary by state. Below are some examples of visitation rules:
- California: In California, courts have the discretion to grant reasonable visitation rights to anyone who has an interest in a child’s welfare, provided that it would be in the best interest of the child. This may include a parent, pursuant to a custody order. It also may include a child’s grandparents or, if one of the child’s parents is deceased, the children, siblings, parents and grandparents of the deceased parent.
- New York: In addition to provisions for visitation by parents and grandparents, New York law contains a procedure for brothers and sisters of minor children to petition the court for visitation rights.
- Texas: In Texas, grandparents and other relatives, in addition to people caring for a child including foster parents, may seek visitation rights, although it can be challenging because the court typically will prioritize the parent’s wishes for their child’s upbringing