What Are Typical Child Custody Rights In New Jersey?

As a result, child custody and visitation issues are sometimes the most dynamic and acrimonious in divorce cases. Therefore, the state has attempted to reduce the tension by reminding the parents that child custody is not about one side winning or losing but what is best for the kid. Below you’ll find out more about the various arrangements for child custody.

What is Legal Custody? 

Legal Custody is a term used to describe the relationship between parents and their children. When both parents have the legal authority to make significant life decisions for their kid, this is known as joint legal custody (ren). Joint legal custody is the most common and generally desired result for families and courts alike. Keeping in mind that not all parents who have joint legal custody want to be engaged in every decision, certain choices like schooling can be left to one parent.

Is Joint Legal Custody and Joint Physical Custody are the same things?

Yes. Unlike Joint Legal Custody, where both parents have an equal say in major life decisions affecting their kid, Joint Physical Custody means both parents have equal time with their children. If you have joint custody, a kid generally spends at least two nights a week with each of your parents. This might vary from case to case depending on the custody agreement reached by both parents, but it’s not uncommon.

Over half of the child’s overnight stays are provided by one parent, who is known as the Parent of Primary Residence. The other parent is known as the Parent of Alternate Residence. This is critical for things like school enrollment and calculating child support.

How do you know if you have Sole Legal Custody?

If a parent has Sole Legal Custody, they can make choices for their kid without consulting the other parent, unlike if they have shared legal custody. In today’s culture, one parent can be granted exclusive legal custody if it is proven that the child’s other parent is unfit or unavailable, which leads us to.

Are Sole Legal Custody and Sole Physical Custody the same thing?

There are less than two evenings per week spent with the other parent when a parent has sole physical custody of their child. This results in visitation rights for the non-custodial parent, allowing them to spend time with their children.

What factors go into determining Child Custody?

According to the courts, a custody arrangement should be based on what’s in the kid’s best interest, as we said before on this site. The following criteria decide whether or not something is in the child’s best interests:

• Has there ever been any domestic violence in your family?
• The capacity of the parents to communicate and agree on all things about the kid
• Relationships between the kid and their parents, as well as their siblings
• The safety of the child with either of their parents 
• Parental control on the quality of life provided to their children
• The incapability of the parents to agree to a custody plan
• The age of the children involved and the number of them
• Work obligations of both parents
• Before the divorce, how much time was spent together as a family?