Child Custody Lawyer San Luis Obispo

Legal Custody

Legal custody is the right to make decisions with regard to issues affecting the health, welfare, and education of the minor children. Some examples of these decisions include enrollment in a particular school or school program, beginning or ending the regular practice of a religion, arranging for child care providers, selecting non-emergency medical, dental or psychological services, and authorizing employment, marriage or enlistment in the Armed Forces. Legal custody is either joint or sole to one parent, not a percentage.

Joint Legal Custody

Joint legal custody is generally the default position, unless there is a particular reason why this would not be in the children’s best interests. When parents have joint legal custody, day-to-day decision making is made by the parent with whom the children are residing, but the parents must consult and cooperate with each other to reach a mutual agreement on all issues affecting the health, welfare and education of the children. Both parents must be listed as emergency contact persons and as individuals authorized to pick the children up from school or day care. When parents cannot agree as to these decisions, mediation should be attempted prior to resorting to the courts.

Physical Custody

Physical custody determines where the minor children reside. Physical custody can be shared jointly by the parents, or one parent can have sole or primary physical custody. If one parent has sole or primary physical custody, that parent is generally designated the “custodial” parent and the other parent is designated the “noncustodial” parent. The noncustodial parent will generally have visitation with the minor children, unless there are specific reasons why visitation is not appropriate or why visitation should be supervised.

Joint Physical Custody

Regardless of the label put on the custody arrangement, either by the parties or the court, determining whether the parents share joint physical custody will be based on the actual time the children spend with each parent. There must be significant time with each parent for the court to find the parties do in fact share joint physical custody, although no specific percentage is required.

Move-Aways

If one parent has sole physical custody, it may be easier for that parent to move out of the area. However, custody orders frequently have a provision that prevents an out-of-the-area move for the children without mutual consent or a court order. Even if a moving parent has sole physical custody, a move-away without a court order approving the move may not interfere with the existing custodial schedule. If the parents share joint physical custody, a request to move will be decided based on what is in the children’s best interests. If a parent with sole physical custody is requesting a move, the non-moving parent must show that the move would be detrimental to the children, not just that staying is in the children’s best interests. Regardless of the label in custody orders for physical custody (e.g. sole, joint or primary), a court will decide for itself whether physical custody is joint or sole at the time of a move-away request based on the actual time the children spend with each parent. Move-away issues are complex and challenging and often there are no good or easy answers. I recommend working together to focus on creative solutions that address, as much as possible, everyone’s reasonable objectives and ensuring the children’s relationships with both parents are preserved. A court cannot prohibit a parent from moving, but rather can modify custody based on a decision to move.