Joint Custody Visitation Rights
Joint custody is a specific type of custody arrangement where both co-parents share custody of their child. In this case, both co-parents will play an active role in parenting their child. Visitation rights is a term that is usually used to describe a co-parent who is not awarded custody of the child in situations where joint custody is not awarded to both co-parents. Joint custody visitation rights still exist and are actually a very important issue to define in your joint custody parenting plan.
Understanding joint custody
Joint custody is a general term that is used to describe a situation where both co-parents are awarded custody of their child. There are actually several parts that come into play in a joint custody agreement. In order to better understand this concept you must know that there are actually two different types of child custody, legal custody and physical custody. Legal custody refers to the legal decision-making responsibilities for the child such as decisions regarding education, health issues, religion, and so on. Physical custody refers to the day-to-day caretaking responsibilities for the child. A true joint custody arrangement would mean that both co-parents share physical custody of the child as well as legal custody, though this is not a requirement. Co-parents can also have joint custody of their child if they share physical custody but not legal custody.
Understanding joint custody visitation rights
Joint custody visitation rights is a more descriptive term for a custody schedule for co-parents who have been awarded joint custody. When co-parents have a joint custody agreement, it’s up to them to decide their own visitation schedule. They will need to create a schedule that allows their child to spend time with both co-parents separately. There are a number of premade custody schedules that work well with joint custody visitation rights. Many family law professionals can make recommendations and additions to your own custody schedule. For some examples of effective custody schedules visit our article Shared Custody Schedules. These examples can act as a guide and help you implement your own joint custody visitation rights. A good recommendation for all co-parents is to seek out help with creating your own custody schedule from a family law professional in your area. All different types of custody schedules have their own benefits and drawbacks. It’s important for you to find the one that works best with your own joint custody visitation rights.
It’s important for co-parents to understand that joint custody visitation rights do not necessarily require that custodial time be split equally between them. In any custody case, even in a joint custody case, the family court must approve joint custody visitation rights. Many times physical custodial time will be split unevenly due to a number of factors such as the ability of each co-parent to care for their child.
The OurFamilyWizard website can help with your joint custody visitation rights
As soon as you and your co-parent begin to implement your joint custody visitation rights you may find that keeping track of every aspect of your custody schedule may be difficult. The OurFamilyWizard website is dedicated to helping struggling co-parents just like yourselves who would like to simplify their lives as co-parents. Tools such as the OurFamilyWizard Calendar are specifically designed for co-parents in order to effectively manage their custody agreement and keep everything organized. For more information on how the OurFamilyWizard website can help you and your family visit our Divorce Parenting page.