The most common child custody arrangement as of 2023 is joint custody. In a joint custody arrangement, both parents share legal and physical custody of their child or children. This means that both parents have the legal right to make decisions about the child’s upbringing and welfare, and that the child splits their time between both parents’ homes.

Types of child custody arrangements include:

  • Sole custody: In a sole custody arrangement, only one parent has legal and physical custody of the child. The other parent may have visitation rights, but does not have the legal right to make decisions about the child’s upbringing and welfare.
  • Joint legal custody: In a joint legal custody arrangement, both parents have the legal right to make decisions about the child’s upbringing and welfare, but one parent has primary physical custody of the child.
  • Joint physical custody: In a joint physical custody arrangement, both parents have physical custody of the child, but one parent has primary legal custody.
  • Split custody of multiple children: In a split custody arrangement, children are split between the parents, with each parent having custody of one or more of the children. For example, the older sibling lives with dad while the younger sibling lives with mom. While it’s not a common outcome, a court can determine that splitting the children would be the better arrangement based on the parents’ work schedules, the children’s school location and schedule, and/or the children’s relationship with each parent.

Legal vs Physical Custody

Legal custody refers to the legal right to make decisions about the child’s upbringing and welfare, while physical custody refers to the child’s physical presence and care. In a joint legal custody arrangement, both parents have the legal right to make decisions about the child’s upbringing and welfare, but one parent has primary physical custody of the child. In a joint physical custody arrangement, both parents have physical custody of the child, but one parent has primary legal custody.

When is Sole Custody awarded?

Sole custody is awarded to a parent for several reasons, including:

  • The other parent is deemed to be unfit or unable to care for the child due to factors such as substance abuse, criminal behavior, or mental health issues.
  • The child has a strong bond with one parent and it is deemed to be in the child’s best interests to remain with that parent.
  • One parent is able to provide a more stable and safe home environment for the child.

It is important to note that in any child custody case, the best interests of the child should be the primary consideration.