When discussing child custody, physical custody is often what parents focus on first. When will they get to live with the child? When will the child be in their house and under their care? Their primary goal is to ensure that they get to spend time together.
This is important, but there is another area to consider: legal custody. Someone has to make decisions on the child’s behalf or take certain actions—like opening a bank account—and the person with the ability to do this has legal custody of the child. This is also often referred to as decision-making ability. But what does this actually cover?
Healthcare issues
For one thing, legal custody covers healthcare and medical decisions. What pediatrician should the child see? What type of vaccines should they get? What treatment do you want them to receive at the hospital in an emergency? These are important questions that parents need to answer.
Educational issues
As children get older, parents also have to consider what type of school to enroll them in. Are they going to attend the local public school, a private school, a religious school or something else entirely? Parents may also be interested in switching schools at a later date.
Financial issues
As noted above, parents can decide where to open bank accounts for their children. They may invest on their behalf, apply for credit cards with the child as an approved user and much more. The parent with legal custody is the one who gets to make these financial decisions.
Dividing both physical and legal custody can be complex during a divorce. Make sure you know exactly what steps to take.