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It's very important to determine what kind of child custody arrangement you want while going through your divorce because ultimately, this will decide the kind of relationship you'll be sharing with your child and soon-to-be ex. People who want a divorce but have children together find it difficult to extricate themselves from each other's lives because of the common denominator. Finding an acceptable arrangement regarding child custody will at least give you an idea of what kind of interaction you and your child will have with your ex in the future. An arrangement that minimizes conflict is in your child's best interest.
There are four major types of child custody:
1. Joint custody - One of the most preferred custody arrangements by most divorcing couples. Most state statutes also prefer this type of custody arrangements. There may be different variations to joint child custody, but the general idea is that both parents share the legal responsibility as well as the physical custody of the child. When joint custody is being considered as a possible arrangement, some factors are taken into consideration such as the ability of both parents to cooperate amicably with the arrangement, financial limitations as far as transporting the child to and from parents, the child's preferences, and more.
2. Sole custody - Also called full custody. This is where one parent is made the custodial parent and is given full legal responsibility and physical custody and care for the child. The noncustodial parent, on the other hand, are granted visitation rights. Custodial parents are generally given full authority to decide for the child's upbringing such as deciding what the child's religious upbringing will be, whether the child should retain or change his/her surname, and the likes.
3. Nonparental custody - Also called third party custody. This is done should both parents be seen as unfit to be given custody of their child. It may also be done if the child has already been living with a third party for an extended period of time. Third parties that seek custody are usually grandparents, siblings, stepparents, aunts and uncles, and partners. Challenging a parent's custody entails showing proof that the parent is unfit and that it is not in the child's best interest to be in the custody of the parent/s.
4. Split custody - This type of custody splits multiple cildren between parents. Because of the fact that siblings have to be separated, this is not a very common type of custody arrangement. Courts are generally very reluctant to separate siblings even if they are half-siblings or step-siblings because such a separation is often seen as traumatic for the children, especially on top of the trauma of having their parents divorce.
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