Child custody and different types of Visitation rights

The custody of a child is no small matter, despite claims made by the media proclaiming it to be a walk in the park. Child custody attorney in Ellis County and child support attorney in Ellis County work hard to settle issues of custody between the parents of the child, keeping in mind the vulnerability of the child in question. There are many scenarios where the geographical location of the parents and their marital status poses complications for the child and here is where an Waxahachie Child custody lawyerand Waxahachie Child support lawyeris very useful. There exist several types of custody arrangements which are described below.

Joint Physical Custody

If the judge grants joint legal custody, the custody of the child is split between the two parents. This arrangement allows the child to spend equal time with both the parents. This type of custody is the best, where the parents can rise above their own petty differences and work out an arrangement for the betterment of the child.

Joint Legal Custody

In certain cases, the court decides to award one parent the right to make decisions on behalf of the child. This depends on several factors which the judge weighs carefully. Joint legal custody comes out of the desire and wish of the parents to make shared decisions in the best interests of the child.

Sole Custody

Sometimes the court can decide to make one parent responsible for major decisions in the child’s rights. These can be issues regarding healthcare, education, general welfare as well as religion. This does not mean that the other parent is left out of the decision making process but one parent, decided by the court has to be answerable. But it also has to be kept in mind that sole custody is granted in cases where there has been a lot of conflict in the marital relationship, which may or may not include domestic violence.

Visitation

This arrangement allows the non-custodial parent to have some parenting time with the child. When the child is living with the custodial parent, he/she can still have visits from the other parent which is according to a timetable as set by the court. It also depends on the work schedules of the parents, prior child care histories, the location of schools and last but not the least, the safety of the child.

Supervised Visitation

When the court grants supervised visitation rights, it is usually in cases where there is a previous history of violence and abuse from one parent to another and the custodial parent has to show to the judge why supervised visits are necessary. These visits are made according to a strict supervised schedule which the visiting parent has to adhere to.