When parents living in New Jersey divorce, custody matters are often the top priority during their negotiations. Parents do not want the end of their marriage to cause irreparable harm to the dynamic they have with their children.
The New Jersey family courts must follow state statutes, which explicitly require the prioritization of a child’s best interests when establishing a custody order. Parents can potentially reach agreements on their own outside of court that a judge then uses to establish a custody order.
Parents attempting to negotiate their own arrangements need to understand the difference between legal custody and physical custody to ensure they establish terms that actually work well for their family.
What is physical custody?
Physical custody is essentially parenting time. The parent who has physical custody on any given day must meet the children’s needs. The courts generally expect parents to manage joint physical custody by sharing overnight parenting time unless such arrangements put the children at risk.
What is legal custody?
Legal custody involves parental authority. The legal custody that parents have is what authorizes them to make decisions about the upbringing of their children. As is the case with physical custody, parents usually share legal custody after they divorce or separate.
The division of legal custody is slightly different than the division of physical custody. Both parents usually have the ability to make decisions about the children’s short-term needs during their own parenting time. They choose what the children eat, when they go to bed and what medical care they receive if they fall ill.
However, when parents share legal custody, they usually need to work cooperatively with one another to address any parenting decisions with long-term implications, such as decisions about school enrollment or intensive medical interventions.
Communication is key to success
When parents share physical custody, they generally need to communicate about disruptions to the family schedule or unexpected events that may interfere with their usual parenting time. When parent share legal custody, they need to communicate about the children’s health and education frequently.
Having systems in place to communicate calmly about the children can make the adjustment to shared custody easier. Parents may also need to establish an arrangement for settling any disputes they have about parenting issues.
Working with an experienced New Jersey custody attorney can help parents as they negotiate custody arrangements or prepare for family court. Parents who understand the New Jersey approach to custody can work to establish co-parenting arrangements that work well for their entire family.