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The divorce act has established rules regarding the parenting arrangements after the divorce. These rules focus on the parenting responsibilities required for their childcare.

A parenting arrangement has answers to questions like where will the child live post-divorce, who will be the decision-maker of the child, and many more such questions.

After divorce, the court grants custody of the child to one or both parents. There are two parts to the parental responsibilities after divorce: parenting time and decision making.

Parts of Allocation of Parental Responsibilities

Parental time determines the amount of time each parent will physically spend with their children. It includes the duration when the child is not physically under any parent’s care, for example, the time spent in school or daycare. In some cases, even if you win 50% of the parental timing, you might not have enough rights on decision-making abilities.

Decision-making means the parent who won custody has the right to make significant decisions related to their child’s upbringing, education, legal status, health care, religion, and extracurricular activities.

Types of Custody Orders

There are generally two types of custody orders, legal custody, and physical custody.

• Legal Custody: Legal custody determines the parent who will be responsible for the significant decisions related to the nurturing of the child. It is always advisable to hire a divorce attorney at Beermann LLP, as they are experienced and will get you the best custody agreement. These decisions include education, legal status, health care, religion, and extracurricular activities. Legal custody can be further divided into two segments:
  • Shared or joint decision-making means both the parents have equal decision-making powers over the welfare and upbringing of the child. In a joint decision, the parents are supposed to communicate their conflicts and work together to make the necessary decisions. Shared or joint custody is a common judgment that is passed by the jury in divorce cases unless there is evidence that shows the incompetence of a parent.
  • Sole or exclusive decision-making is when only one parent is granted rights over the decision-making and responsibilities of the child. Such judgments are passed by the jury when they have evidence that the other parent is unable to take responsibility, unavailable, or is a child abuser, drug abuser, negligent, etc.
• Physical Custody: Physical custody determines where the child will live regularly. It can be joint or sole custody as well. With joint custody, the child gets to stay with both parents. In joint custody, it is not necessary that both the parents will get an equal amount of time. Generally, one parent wins more time than the other. In sole custody, children stay with just one parent and meet the other parent on visitations, which is determined by the authorities.

Conclusion

A divorce together with a child custody case can be emotionally draining for both parents and the children. They will help you find a speedy solution to the case and take the necessary steps to increase the odds of you getting child custody.

Divorce can feel overwhelming and lead to anxiety, stress, depression, and rage. It is crucial to deal with your emotions healthily and take all the available help to deal with this emotional disturbance.