Parental custody is the responsibility for making decisions for a child’s well-being. It can be established through divorce and can be physical, primary, shared, or sole. In the US, states determine custody requirements and definitions.
Parental custody, sometimes referred to as statutory custody, is a term used to decide or establish who is responsible for making important decisions governing the health and well-being of a child below the legal age of adulthood. In many cases, parental custody may not be an issue and is typically assumed by a married couple who are the legal parents of a child. Some situations, however, bring parental custody into question, typically when the parents divorce or otherwise annul their marriage. In divorce cases, custody is often decided by the court and can be a very contentious issue during divorce proceedings.
The term ‘custody’ is mainly used in America and in other regions it can be replaced with terms such as ‘liability’ in the European Union and ‘residence’ in Scotland. Regardless of the precise term used, parental custody is generally seen as belonging to the parent or legal guardian with whom the child lives most of the time and who is allowed to make important decisions regarding the child’s education. In the United States (USA), the exact requirements and definitions for parental custody are often up to individual states to determine.
US states often decide on physical custody by determining where a child lives. Parental custody can often be established through a divorce, and both parties might come to a mutually beneficial agreement or fiercely contest the other person gaining custody of the child. When a divorce establishes custody of a child, there are several types of custody, including primary custody, shared or joint custody, and sole custody.
Primary custody is typically based on physical custody of a child and covers where the child most often lives. Sole parental custody of a child occurs when a parent or legal guardian has sole custody over a child and can legally make all of the important day-to-day decisions affecting the child’s health and well-being, including geographic location, schools and medical issues. In contrast, joint custody or shared custody of a child is a situation where both parents have separate custody of the child’s parents, but each takes turns being the child’s guardian. This is often the case in situations where a child lives with one parent during certain parts of the year or week and lives with the other parent during other times.
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