Custody is having the legal right to make major decisions about the child’s care and upbringing. It doesn’t always specify in all cases which parent the child lives with or spends time with. The parent who has the custody has the right to make important decisions about education, health and medical care and religion. There are different types of custody arrangements that can be made for the best interest of the child. These custody arrangements can be different from one family to another. Broadly, they can be divided into the following categories:
Sole Custody: Sole custody is granted in cases where there is evidence of abuse, drug addiction mental or physical violence, mental illness or proven inability of a parent to be responsible for the child. In all cases, the best interest of the child is considered first and foremost. With sole custody, only the parent who is fit and responsible is given the decision-making authority for all the major decisions for the child. In these situations, the child usually lives with the parent with the sole custody.
Joint custody: Joint custody is when both parents give consent for any decisions being made for the child for education, health, medical care, religion. They make decisions about the child jointly. This usually happens when there is little or no conflict between the parents and they agree about most of the decisions and in cases of minor conflicts, the resolution can be reached in a calm and mature fashion.
