Child Custody Agreement: Establishing A Legal RelationshipA child custody agreement is basically a legal and practical relationship established between the parents and the child. This legal relationship confers to the custodian parent the right to make the decisions for the child and take up the duty to care for the child. The child custody agreement can be defined as a framework for post divorce parenting. This agreement which is usually drawn up as part of the divorce proceeding includes handing over of the guardianship of a child to either of the parents, deciding on visitation privileges, lifestyle decisions, and so much more. In other words, through this agreement, childcare requirements are addressed and charted out accordingly with mutual concurrence from both parents. A normal child custody agreement usually comprises of the following:
There are several types of custody agreements that parents may opt for after the divorce. This would naturally be suited to their specific understanding to look after the child to the best of their abilities. These include physical custody, legal custody, sole custody and joint custody. Physical custody This form of custody allows the parent the right to live with his or her child. Joint physical custody is sometimes awarded to both parents when the child in question spends a significant duration of time with each of them. However, this system works best when the parents live relatively close to each other because traveling from one parent to the other should not strain the child or disrupt normal schedule. When a child is living primarily with one particular parent with visitation privileges with the other, the parent who the child is spending most of the time with is referred to as the sole physical custodian with visitation privileges to the other. Legal Custody A legal custody bestows the right of decision-making and obligation to the child's upbringing, and the parent who wins legal custody gets to decide on issues such as health care, education, and religious issues pertaining to the child. Joint legal custody allows the right to make decisions to both the parents. This is regularly awarded by several states to parents applying for it. On noncompliance of the agreement by keeping a particular decision to yourself without telling your spouse, this may entitle him or her to take you to court to enforce the custody agreement. The ensuing friction and embarrassment may be harmful to children as well. However you may not have to pay a fine or do jail time. With an attorney, the proceedings might just be that much more expensive. If however, you deem joint legal custody as not a probable option due to lack of cooperation from the other parent or any other personal reason, you may ask for sole legal custody. However, a lot of convincing is required in order to make the court understand that this would indeed be the best choice for your child's future. Sole custody This custody grants guardianship to a single parent which is more common in cases where the other parent has been regarded as unfit which may be due to a variety of reasons such as substance abuse or child neglect and abuse. However, most courts are not awarding sole custody. In case of sole physical custody, they are also awarding joint legal custody to both parents and the visitations privileges are usually very generous. However, the only time to approach the court for sole custody is when the child has been threatened by the other parent, and even then the courts may simply award a joint legal custody along with supervised visitation rights. Joint custody Joint custody allows the parents to make decisions as well as obtain physical custody together. Though some parents may share legal custody, physical custody is not always mandatory. The children are then expected to split their time between the two parents residences. For this to be effective, a schedule needs to be worked out by both parents. If the parents fail to make a proper schedule, the court would intervene to make the schedule instead. Joint custody usually exists when the parents are divorced, separated, or have never lived together. But whatever the mode of custody, the main criteria when opting for a particular type is to keep in mind what would benefit the child most. It is the child that matters first and foremost. While personal feelings may prevent you from looking objectively at the child custody procedure, it is best to consider which program would give the child the most advantages for his or her future.
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