How to Understand the Difference Between Types of Custody

Video Transcript

"Hello, have you ever had questions concerning the different types of custody that, that is allowed within a divorce situation? Why let me give you a few tips on it, my name is Dr. Felicia and I've had much experience in dealing with custody issues in many jurisdictions. It's important to understand the different terms, if you get very confused you can go to your local bar association and ask for those terms and see what the jurisdiction is for your state; your community. In, it can vary from state to state but for the most part these are the terms. Shared custody usually means that both parents have the right of decision making towards the child's educational process, what activities they participate in and whatever churches they belong to etc., what religion they study and those are things that are shared. Hopefully both parents get along and communicate, if not they may need a parent coordinator to help them along those lines. One parent may want them to join soccer, another parent may want them to join football and those are things that have to be mediated. The other kind of custody is when we have shared custody but one primary custodial parent. That means the child has prime residence in that one parents home 90% of the time and the alternate parent may get the child every other weekend, and certainly one night a week for visitation. So that what's considered soul custody, prime residential custody. And the other is also shared custody where the parents may get equal time, and there's not one prime resident parent but both parents have the child an equal number of times, so that would be alternate weeks. Some schedules call for the child to be picked up different days of the week; I don't advise that because we've had incidences where children get on the wrong school bus when they're going to a different parents during a school week, so it's rather important to keep that week clean for the child. You can imagine how confusing it is for a child to not know which house they're going to each day of the week, it gets very confusing, it would be confusing for an adult to have to switch residences ever so many days. So please keep that in mind when you're planning, if you're going to do shared custody on equal basis that the child gets a solid week in one parents home and then the next week in the next parent's home if possible. That usually calls for both parents living in the same school district that the child attends, this is not always the case. But please keep in mind regardless of the type of custody form that's set up, the importance is the benefit of the child; you must keep in mind the best interest of the child. So please have that communication open and at the same time don't expect that one parent is going to drop out of sight because that child has a right to both parents being there. I do wish you the best of luck on this and as always consult your attorney for all further details, god bless and good luck, Dr. Felicia."