When addressing custody and visitation in your Marital Settlement Agreement, we will address three aspects: Time Sharing Agreement, Physical Custody, and Legal Custody...
When addressing custody and visitation in your Marital Settlement Agreement, we will address three aspects:
Time Sharing Agreement, Physical Custody, and Legal Custody.
The first (and most important from my perspective) is your time sharing arrangement. This means putting into writing what days and times the child/children will be with each of you. This can be left as broad as, "The parties will share time with the child as mutually arranged." or can be very detailed setting forth a specific schedule for weekdays, weekends, holiday vacation periods, and actual holidays. It is up to you to decide what level of specificity will work best for you.
You can have either:
Sole physical custody to one parent or Joint physical custody.
Sole physical custody means that the child will reside with one parent subject to the court's power to order visitation.
or
Joint physical custody means that each parent will have significant periods of physical custody. It must be shared by the parents in a manner that ensures the child frequent and continuing contact with both parents. In ordering joint physical custody the court may specify one parent as the child's primary caretaker and one home as the child's primary home; however, "primary physical custody" has no legal meaning.
Often time people believe that this label will affect the ability of either party to move the child; however, the existing timeshare arrangement rather than the words used is scrutinized by the court in determining whether a parent has the right to move the child or whether the court must readdress the custody issue to determine whether the child moves or not.
Legal custody has to do with the right and responsibility to make decisions regarding the health, education and welfare of the child.
You can have either:
Sole legal custody to one parent
or
Joint legal custody: Under an order for joint legal custody, either party acting alone may make decisions regarding the health, education, and welfare of the child unless the order specifies circumstances requiring the consent of both parents. An order specifying such circumstances must also indicate the consequences of failure to obtain mutual consent.
