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What’s the difference between legal and physical custody of a child?

After couples decide to get a divorce, there are still many other decisions to make. Depending on the divorce, these decisions may be made in court by a judge or by the couple during mediation. For each issue, there should be a discussion to come up with an end outcome for the newly single lives of the spouses. Child custody decisions can be one of the most sensitive topics to breach. Since this issue does not involve money or possessions, but the bond between a parent and child, the decision can be hard to make. Custody arrangements are made by determining physical custody and legal custody of a child.

Physical custody of a child names one parent as the custodial parent. For these arrangements, this parent will be the one that the child resides with most of the time. The child may have access to their other parent and stay at their home sometimes. However, their custodial parent is the one whom they will see most often. Legal custody grants a parent the ability to make major decisions in a child’s life. This can include their practiced religion, their education, medical decisions and more. Although a parent may not be the custodial parent, they are still able to acquire legal custody. By acquiring legal custody, they can still be just as involved as the custodial parent since they can make decisions regarding the child’s life.

Who is paid child support?

Child support and child custody decisions are both decided on upon divorce. If a parent is named as the custodial parent, they may be able to acquire child support since they are providing for the child’s needs most of the time. In order to decide child support, many factors are involved. The parents’ incomes are examined to see how much they can provide for the child. The child’s current standard of living is also taken into account. When one parent is more involved in the child’s life, they may be entitled to child support due to the amount they provide for the child on a daily basis. As the custodial parent, they put a roof over the child’s head, meals on the table every day and much more. This is considered when deciding how child support payments should be made and how much money is involved.

Matters of divorce and family law require the attention and skill of an experienced attorney who will fight for your future. If you need a divorce and family law attorney in Ocean County, New Jersey, contact the Law Office of Sarina Gianna, LLC today to schedule a consultation.