Understanding Parenting Time vs. Legal Custody
Custody is a term that dominates a large amount of family law discussions regarding a former couple’s child. However, this overlooks the larger set of legal frameworks regarding both child custody and parenting time. Sole and joint custody represent very different outcomes. Likewise, scheduled parenting time does not carry with it a presumption of custody. In fact, there are arrangements where both parents may have extensive parenting time while only one has full legal custody.
This matters for a host of reasons, especially once a court has officially entered a ruling on this question. It particularly matters when it comes to questions of violations of the custody agreement or a court order. Here is what a family law attorney will want to discuss with you regarding custody and parenting time.
What Are Child Custody and Parenting Time Legally?
The term custody makes it sound like having the child with you is its defining feature. However, in American law, child custody is about who can make decisions for the kid. These cover critical decisions for the child’s well-being, including education and healthcare. It also extends to questions about the child’s community life, especially their religious upbringing.
Sole legal custody means that one parent makes the decisions. This is a less common arrangement because the courts strongly prefer that both parents have a say in their child’s upbringing and well-being.
The more common arrangement is joint legal custody. This means both parents have a say in making these kinds of decisions.
People frequently misunderstand how custody affects time with the child, assuming that primary custody means that one parent gets the most time automatically. The law treats this as a separate question.
The separate question is parenting time. Courts and lawyers prefer to arrange an explicit schedule of parenting time. These agreements typically require a parent to have the child for so many days in any given month. Likewise, the parenting time agreement usually addresses how the child will spend their time over the holidays with each parent. Some agreements also address common family practices, such as annual summer vacations with one side of the family or the other.
Court orders and agreements can address this split in many ways. A 50/50 split isn’t uncommon, especially if both parents have the time. Some people with unusual work schedules away from home will try to set up agreements that require so many days a month based on how often they’re likely to be home.
Notably, a child usually has a primary residence with one parent, who is typically the primary custodial parent. Even if there’s no other reason for doing so, the courts may do this just to make sure a child is in a stable situation for their education during the school year.
Understanding Complications and Violations
Child custody and parenting time agreements are one of the messier parts of family law. People get emotional about the question of whose kid the child is and where they live. Throw in complicating factors like allegations of abuse, difficult work schedules, and poor parenting relationships with the child, and you can easily see how this becomes difficult to sort out. Worse, it is easy to see how one parent may end up in violation of the agreement.
It is also worth noting that every state has an age at which a child will start to have a say in the custody arrangement and parenting time. Older children can often choose where they want to live and how much time to spend with each parent.
Similarly, a court may impose a supervisor if there are concerns about the child’s safety or the general level of conflict between the two parents. While all courts prefer to see civilized arrangements that don’t require supervision, the judge has to prioritize the child’s safety and well-being over legal convenience.
To this end, the court applies a standard known as “the best interests of the child.” Whenever there is a complication, a violation, or even a simple disagreement, the judge should rule based on what’s in the best interests of the child. Suppose one parent’s house is closer to a preferred school. This is something the court has to account for in deciding what is in the kid’s best interests.
Agreement violations are where things get especially sticky. A common violation is that one parent decides that during their parenting time, the child shouldn’t talk to the other parent. Legally, a parent has a right to check in a reasonable number of times with the child during their stay.
Withholding the child is a more notable violation. This means that one parent simply prevents the other parent from taking the child during their appointed parenting time.
Unilateral decision-making when there’s a joint custody agreement is a major violation. If a parent begins making schooling and medical decisions without the other’s consent, a family law attorney will strongly encourage you to take the matter to a court.
Non-actions can be violations, too. Perhaps a parent decided to simply skip one of the kid’s medical appointments during their parenting time. That is a violation. Non-compliance can also occur if a parent doesn’t send a child to school.
Addressing Custody and Parenting Time Issues
The first step is to document everything. Note when violations occur. If you have texts or phone logs, preserve those. You can talk with an experienced family law attorney like the lawyers at Davis & Associates to get a better sense of what counts as a violation and what may just be a difference of parenting. A lawyer can also help you develop a case regarding the violation of an agreement or a court order.
You have rights as a parent, so find out now how to protect them and the best interests of your child.
