Attorney Discussing Types of Child Custody

One of the toughest parts of going through a divorce is deciding how the separation will affect your child. Will they live with you? Or will they split time between you and your ex-spouse? Will they have to move, change schools, and lose friends?

If you’re going through a divorce and have a minor child, you and your former spouse or a judge will be tasked with determining custody rights. There are several forms of child custody you may consider, including: 

• Legal custody – If you have legal custody, it means you have the legal right to make decisions regarding your child’s life and upbringing, including medical treatment, education, religion, and more. Legal custody can be sole, meaning just you or your ex-spouse alone have legal custody of the child, or joint, meaning you share legal custody. If you opt for joint legal custody, you are required by law to consult your former spouse when making decisions regarding your child.
• Physical custody – This refers to where the child lives. This can be either sole, joint/shared, or bird’s nest, in which the child lives in a central location, and the parents take turns living with them on a regular basis.
• Visitation – Visitation rights are for parents who do not have physical custody of their child. This means they get a regular set time, be it weekly, monthly, or annually, in which they can interact with and see their child. Under some circumstances, visitation may require supervision, in which case an appointed adult must be present during all parent-child visits.

If you plan to file for divorce, learn more about child custody and visitation by contacting a Texas child custody attorney at Warren & Migliaccio today. Call 888-584-9614 now.