When it comes to the custody of the child, there are certain set rules which one must abide by. Legal child custody means to have the right to make decisions about the child’s upbringing, education, religion, medical care, etc. However, there is a difference between legal child custody and physical custody.

Physical custody means to have the right to live with the child/ren, where the child/ren lives the majority of time. There are 3 types of physical custody of the child:

1) Sole custody: in this case the child/ren lives primarily with one parent and the non-custodial parent have the visitation rights and can even sleepover sometimes.

2) Joint custody: sometimes parents are awarded with joint custody where the child/ren spends approximately equal amounts of time with the parents. This type is also called as ‘shared parenting’ or ‘dual residence’. It works best if the parents live nearer, as it reduces the amount of stress on the children and allows to follow a normal routine.

3) Bird’s nest custody: In this case it is the parents who take turns to visit the child/ren. The ward lives in a fix location and the parents decides among themselves the time when they would come over to stay with them.

In legal child custody, a parent has the right to make decisions on behalf of the child. Under the legal custody there are further two types of custody:

1) Sole custody: you can ask the court for sole legal custody if you feel that the other parent is abusive and is impossible to communicate with. But for this you need to convince the family court that it is for your child/ren’s interest. And only the parent who has the sole custody has the right to make decisions for your child/ren.

2) Joint legal custody: here both the parents are responsible to make any major decision for the child/ren. In this case you cannot exclude your ex from the decision making process, your ex can drag you back to court which may cause more friction between you and your ex, which may harm your child/ren. However, without sharing ‘joint physical custody’ you can share ‘joint legal custody’.

Courts do not usually hesitate to award sole custody of the child to one parent if they find that the other parent is unfit or is charged with child abuse. However, courts are trying to do away with awarding sole custody to a single parent. Even if sole custody is awarded, both the parents share joint legal custody, and the non-custodial parent enjoys visitation to the child/ren. It is best to seek sole custody only if the other parent is liable to cause physical harm to the child/ren otherwise not.

Most of the times, the court prefers to award joint custody as they feel that the father must also share the responsibility of the upbringing of the child. Even if you are divorced, separated, or no longer share a joint household, you may be awarded joint custody of the child which may be:

- joint legal custody

- joint physical custody (where the children spend a significant portion of time with each parent), or

- Joint legal and physical custody

Parents who share physical custody may also share legal custody. There are cases where you share legal custody but do not share physical custody. Thus, it is very crucial for the parents/ parent to understand the legal terminology.