The family law practice group at Adams Legal Group, PLLC, in Morgantown, WV receives questions from clients and prospective clients all the time about some very common child custody terms. While these
terms are “common” to our family-law attorneys, they are often misunderstood and at times confusing to parents facing life-altering custody legal disputes.
Going through a divorce and trying to work out custody of minor children, is a new experience for many people. There is a lot of terminology and different concepts that you’ve surely heard discussed, but maybe you don’t know what it all means. How do you make sense of all the new information you are presented with at this time, and also handle the many stresses that go along with divorce and child custody battles. Let us try to help “break it all down” for you.
Family Law Child Custody Disputes in WV
First, if your parenting time and custody rights are being challenged in a contested child-custody case, in court, you should not have to go at it alone. Be sure to contact a reputable domestic attorney, like one of the top WV custody lawyers at Adams Legal Group, PLLC – our family-law attorneys know the ins and outs of divorce and child custody laws and have a demonstrated history of achieving positive outcomes in family court cases.
In the meantime, we’ve tried to answer some of the most frequently asked questions we receive from our clients at the beginning of their child custody cases:
What is the difference between legal and physical custody?
- Legal custody is most often shared equally between parents. It refers to the parent’s right to decide about their child’s health care, education, religion, etc. .Rarely, in extreme cases where a parent is shown to be a danger to the child, the court will award sole legal custody.
- Physical custody is where the child lives and/or spends his or her time, otherwise known as which parent has actual possession and control of a child at any given time. Sometimes physical custody is 50/50, like in situations where children go back and forth regularly between both parents’ homes. Sometimes parents will divide custody less equally, like 70/30, and in those cases, the parent with whom the child is with a larger percentage of time, is said to have physical custody, and the other parent is granted visitation.
What is joint custody?
Family court judges recognize the importance of having both parents involved as much as possible, so it’s also common for parents to share custody. When it comes to physical custody, joint custody means that the child spends a significant amount of time with each parent. The division of time doesn’t have to be exactly equal between parents, but similar.
What is sole custody?
Sole custody is when one parent is granted 100% custody either legally, physically or both. Judges rarely grant sole legal custody, and if so, only when one parent has been shown to be seriously unfit or has been absent in the child’s life. It is common for one parent to have sole physical custody, and the other parent has designated visitation.
What does visitation mean?
Visitation is time that the non-custodial parent has with the child. In recent years, the term visitation has become less popular, as some feels it implies a lesser relationship with the child, and some now use the term parenting time instead. Parents are entitled to work out their own visitation arrangements, but more often it is advisable to have visitation decided by the courts, in order to protect your rights.
Contact A WV Custody Lawyer For Your Case
If you are facing a child custody case in Morgantown, WV or in the North-Central WV area and have questions about your custody issues and getting a parenting plan that can work for you, call us today for your free consultation at (304) 381-2166 or visit our child custody legal services page for more information.
