Knowing Your Joint Custody Rights

Many child custody cases today end with parents having some form of joint custody rights. There are a few different types of joint custody, and knowing which you have is very important as it will determine what say you have in the rearing of your own child.

What Does ‘Joint Custody’ Mean?

A very common type of joint custody concerns the medical, educational, and religious upbringing of the children. Your joint legal custody rights need to be obeyed when any of these issues are faced with the children. Each parent is to have equal say in these decisions. It is very important for the well-being of the children that you can amicably come to some sort of an agreement. Many times, one parent will try to out ‘power’ the other with a show of force. You should not let this happen, and if the interference of a mediator is necessary, then that route should be explored.

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Other types of custody include the actual residence the child will reside in. Joint physical custody arrangements are usually reserved for parents who can get along extremely well, which is not the case in most instances. Typically, there is a primary residence awarded by the court where the parent is considered the custodial parent, and the other is the non-custodial parent.

The above types of custody arrangements can be made separate of the other – so for instance, parents could have both joint legal and joint physical custody, or more often simply joint legal custody and the other parent is subject to visitation rights set out by the court.

It is important to remember that just because parents might have joint legal custody; it does not mean that the non-custodial parent can decide when to pick up or drop off the children. It only means they have a say in the major decisions that are made.

Stay Within Your Bounds

Joint custody rights can be a very touchy subject for most parents, especially the non-custodial parent. A lot of times they feel like they are being suppressed by the other parent. But, if you are the non-custodial parent, it is extremely important that you do not overstep your bounds. Meaning, if you are supposed to pick the children up at two o’clock in the afternoon, do not show up at one o’clock with the expectation you are going to be able to take them with you. That is, unless both parties have agreed to it beforehand.

If a custody case were to ever appear in front of a judge, you will be held accountable for your actions. It is always best to obey the rules if you want to look the best in the eyes of the Court. You want to be able to sit on the stand and tell the judge that you followed every rule of your joint custody visitation rights.

What Joint Custody Means For Both Sides – Custodial and Non-custodial parents

If you are the non-custodial parent, like it or not, there will be a lot of times when you feel that your voice is not being heard – especially in the case of bad post-relationship circumstances. There will most likely be many times where you will simply have to grit your teeth and act like it doesn’t bother you.

If you are the custodial parent, remember that there is another parent that loves those children just as much as you do and taking into account their feelings over certain decisions is going to make the situation a little more bearable for everybody.

No matter which side you happen to be on, and even in the best parenting relationship, it is very important to keep a log of time and activities that you do with the children. Important things to note are conversations that you have with the other parent, any adverse actions they take. Joint custody rights can be brought to court at any time by either parent, so it is important to have a very thorough log of all the incidents that have transpired. If you do not log them, you will forget. This is especially true for parents that are currently getting along well.

In the past, custody rights for fathers were downplayed, not only by the court, but by just about everybody else as well. Times have changed and people, courts included, now realize that there is just as much benefit to the child living with either parent. A judge will usually be able to look past the gender of the parent and look more towards the facts; the actions of both parents; and who they think would be a better fit to primarily raise the children. Keeping good records of your interactions with the children, the other parent, and any caregivers (daycare and teachers included) along with keeping your own life in line, will many times give you an edge when it is time for the judge to make their decision.

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