When parents decide to end a marriage and divorce one another they must go through the long and heartbreaking process of dividing up the life that the two of them have built together, including dividing the time spent with the children. The parents must work out between the two of them who is going to have custody of the children when, how long the children will be with one parent before switching to the custody of the other parent, how to split up the holidays, who provides the transportation for visitation, and so forth.

Many parents have a hard time working through all of these emotional issues on their own, and lawyers and court mediators often must become involved in order for a custody agreement to be reached that is somewhat satisfying to both parties. Yet, before all of the details that go into making a child custody arrangement can be decided on, the parents must first decide on the type of child custody they are either going to agree to, or seek to be granted in a court of law.

Sole Custody-This is also referred to as “full custody” in some areas. In this situation one parent has both the legal and physical responsibility of the child. They are the legal decision maker for the child, holding the final say on everything. The non-custodial parent may offer advice, options, and objections to decisions concerning the child, but the parent with sole custody holds the decision making power. The child is typically with the sole custodial parent for 90% of the time, which is why that parent is given all of the decision-making abilities for their child.

Joint Legal Custody- This is where both parents, instead of just the custodial parent, have an equal say in the decisions to be made in regards to raising their child. However, if the parents cannot agree with one another on a major decision regarding their child, the courts will have to intervene, making the decision for the parents.

Joint Physical Custody- This has become a more popular custody arrangement in recent years. This is when both parents share custody of the child on a 50/50 basis. The most common visitation schedule is when the child spends one week at one parent’s house, and the following week at the other parent’s house. In this instance both parents become the ‘primary custodian’ of the child giving the both equal amounts of legal say when it comes to the child, as well as time spent with the child.

Often times a custody order will contain a combination of the types of custody listed above. My husband had joint legal custody of his son, giving both him and his ex-wife an equal say in decisions regarding the upbringing of their child, but he had sole physical custody of the child, having his son with him at least ninety percent of the time. When it comes to combining custody types it is important to keep in mind that the parent who is named as the primary parent, or the primary residential parent, will win in a dispute that goes to court more often than not.