What Are the Primary Custodial Responsibilities?
Two major types of custody exist: physical and legal. The parent with physical custody has the child in question with him the majority of the time. Legal custody means making decisions regarding the child's upbringing. A court creates different combinations of these custodial responsibilities when it designates joint custody and/or primary, or sole, custody.
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Housing
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The primary custodian provides housing and living arrangements for the person or child for which she has custody. Children live with the primary custodian more than they do with the parent who has only visitation rights. Housing, whether an apartment or a traditional house, should provide a clean and stable environment for the child.
Health Care
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The primary custodian makes decisions regarding the child's health care. Decisions concerning which medical and dental providers the child sees and possibly the health insurance plan that covers the child is left to the custodial parent unless these responsibilities are designated as joint legal custody. In addition, the primary custodian has the responsibility to give the child proper medical attention when needed.
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Everyday Decisions
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Everyday decisions, or the "day-to-day" care, are left to the primary custodial parent. These are decisions that do not affect the dependent in any major way. For example, decisions such as how often a child gets his hair cut, the type of cereal he eats, and how much television he watches do not warrant decision-making from both parents and are left for the custodial parent to decide.
Transportation
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The person with primary custody has the responsibility of making sure that the child(ren) get to the appropriate places on time every day. This means arranging for transportation to and from school as well as to any after-school functions and extracurricular activities.
Education
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The parent who has primary physical and legal custody of a child makes decisions regarding the child's education. This parent decides whether the child attends a public or private school. The city in which the child attends school is usually determined based on the proximity of the parent to nearby schools.
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