The list of big decisions parents make regarding their minor children is a long one. These decisions cover all sorts of important areas, including health care, religion and education. Such decisions can deeply affect kids, possibly for long after they have reached adulthood. When parents who have children who are still minors get divorced, who the authority to make these impactful decisions goes to after the marriage ends is one of the key things that needs to be figured out in the divorce.
This is one of the issues child custody matters address. One of the two main types of custody child custody matters deal with is legal custody, which regards the authority to make key decisions related to a child post-split. In contrast, the other type of custody, physical custody, regards who a child will reside with post-split.
As with physical custody, legal custody of a minor child can either be shared by the divorcing parents or given to just one of them. It is fairly common for divorced parents to end up sharing legal custody of their children. However, there are situations in which sharing such custody is not a good fit.
Just like with physical custody, the key issue when it comes to deciding what the best thing to do regarding legal custody of a child in a divorce would be is what would be in the child’s best interests.
Our firm is very attuned to the ways a divorce can affect children and knowledgeable in how to protect a child’s best interests in custody matters. We can help divorcing parents with addressing custody issues, including legal custody issues, in a way aimed at both preserving their parental rights and reaching a resolution that ensures their child’s needs are properly met.