When one is seeking child custody, they will find that there are a few different terms to understand. It can be confusing for parents who don’t know the child custody definition in their state. A good place to start learning about this important issue is by understanding the custody definition for your state. Once you understand the custody definition for your state, you will be better prepared to decide which custody scenario would work best for your family. In the next few paragraphs, we will go over some important child custody terminology.
“Sole custody” means that both parents have the right to be involved in the child’s life. “Sole physical custody” means that the child has one parent and the other parent has sole physical custody. “Sole legal custody” means that the parents share the responsibility for making important decisions about the child. “ultaneous custody” means that both parents have the right to be involved in the child’s life and education. “Unidirectional custody” means that the parents have the right to make decisions about the child and they are also allowed to spend time with the child.
Knowing the child custody definition for your state is important if you are going to work out an agreement for your child custody agreement. When you are researching, you may notice that the custody definition varies from one state to another. This is simply because the decision on what type of child custody agreement is used varies from state to state. However, you should be able to get the general idea of child custody law and the types of custody arrangements that exist if you simply look at the child custody agreement text.
Another helpful tool when working out child custody agreements is a custody dictionary. A custody dictionary is a helpful tool because it can help you understand the terminologies that are used in the child custody agreement. These terminologies include express and implied terms. An express term is a specific and clear statement that tells what the custody agreement will be.
An implied term is not as important as an express term and is used to indicate the extent of a child custody agreement. The less specific the statement is, the easier it is for the court to interpret the agreement. If the court is not able to understand the meaning of the agreement, the court will not enforce it. In essence, this means that a child custody agreement will not restrict a parent from having contact with his/her child.
It is important to note that sole custody does not mean that the parent’s time with the child will be more time than the parents. It only means that the parent will have more time with the child than the other parent. For example, if the parents live in two different states, the sole physical custody of the child would be awarded to the parent living in the state. This means that if the parent lives in the state of Texas and travels out of state, they will have sole legal custody of the child. This can be a source of some difficulty for parents who wish to have joint legal custody.
Joint legal custody is when both parents have an equal right to make decisions for the child. If sole custody is granted, the parent whose name is listed first on the child custody agreement has the right to make decisions about the child. This is not to say that he/she has the sole right to be a parent, but if he/she does have this right, then the decision concerning the child will be given to the parent whose name is on the child custody agreement. If sole custody is granted, the decision concerning the child will be made by a parent chosen by the parent with whom the child is residing.
As you can see, even though sole physical custody does not terminate a parent’s rights to be a parent, joint legal custody does. The parent with whom the child resides is generally the one who is given the “right of first refusal.” If a parent does not wish to give up their right to be a parent, then a custody agreement should be drawn up and the agreement reviewed by a judge.