When parents decide that they must separate, their children are often left in the middle of the situation.
Even in families where both parents have the best interests of the children at heart, figuring out where they will live and who will be responsible for the various parts of raising them is not always easy. Child custody laws in each state help the family courts determine which parent should have custody of the children, where the children should live, and how and when they will communicate with the other parent.

Types of Child Custody

In most states, child custody falls into a combination of four basic categories. These are as follows:

Legal Custody – Legal custody refers to the right to make decisions about the child. These decisions may include educational decisions, living arrangements, healthcare decisions, discipline decisions, and other important decisions in the child’s life.

Physical Custody – Physical custody refers to the parent with which the child lives. In most situations, one parent is given primary physical custody simply to make education and social needs easier to meet.

Sole Custody – Sole custody means that one parent has full legal and physical custody of the child, while the other one has nothing more than possible visitation rights. In this scenario, the custodial parent has the right to make all decisions about the child.

Joint Custody – Joint custody means that both parents have equal custody over the child. This can be joint legal custody, joint physical custody, or both. In situations where the parents have joint physical custody, the child may not spend equal amounts of time at each parent’s house. Sometimes these children will spend the summers with one parent and the school year with the other. Geographic and educational needs often come into play when making these living arrangements and determining the type of joint custody awarded.

The Need for Child Custody Laws

Child custody laws are needed because divorce situations are emotionally draining and can get quite heated at times. Children are very vulnerable in these situations, and if their parents start fighting over who should “get the kids,” they become even more in danger of emotional trauma. By having laws in place, states help protect the children somewhat from being stuck in the middle like this.

These laws also provide direction to parents who are simply looking out for the best interests of their children, but want to keep everything open and honest in the eyes of the family courts. Finally, they protect parents from perceived injustices in the courts, such as the perceived tendency of the courts to deny fathers rights in custody hearings.