One of the toughest jobs that parents in California have is to raise their children. There are many influences on children and parents try to be the biggest influence to help ensure their children make good decisions for themselves. This is not an easy task though and along the way parents need to make many major decisions as they raise them. These decisions can help shape their children’s lives and need to be taken seriously.
When parents are married, one parent may take the lead on most of these decisions or they both may discuss each of the situations and make the decisions together. If the couple ends up going through a divorce, this same dynamic may continue. However, if the couple divorces, there will be a child custody order in place which states which parent will be making all of the decisions. There are two types of custody though. One is legal custody and the other is physical custody. Each type deals with a different type of decision.
Decisions governed by legal and physical custody
Legal custody governs major decisions such as where the children will go to school or receive child care; what religion they will practice; what medical and dental care they will receive; decisions about therapy, psychological and psychiatric care; what sports and other activities they will be involved in; travel decisions and others.
Physical custody governs which parent the children will live with and when they will see the other parent. It generally governs the day-to-day decisions for the children while the children are in their care.
When couples go through a divorce in California there are many difficult decisions that need to be made by the parents. One of the more difficult ones can be child custody decisions. Parents can have joint legal and/or physical custody, meaning that parents will equally be involved in the decision-making process or one parent can have sole custody, meaning only one parent will make the decisions. These are very fact-specific decisions though and consulting with experienced attorneys could be beneficial.