Physical Custody
Physical Custody
Physical custody involves the day-to-day care of a child and where a child will live when parents divorce or separate. Physical custody is very different than legal custody. Therefore, it is important for the parent to distinguish between physical custody and legal custody prior to making a request for physical custody to know what physical custody fully entails. For a legal definition of physical custody, you will want to consult an attorney in your area to learn about physical custody.
Although this is not a legal definition of physical custody, in general, the parent with physical custody has the right to have his/her child live with him/her. If a child lives primarily with one parent, that parent is said to be the custodial parent with full physical custody or sole physical custody. The other parent would be considered the non-custodial parent and would typically have visitation rights to his/her child. If a child lives equally or close to half the time with each of his/her parents as part of a child custody and visitation parenting schedule or court order, the parents are typically said to have joint physical custody. In some joint physical custody arrangements a parent that has more time with the child may be denoted as having primary physical custody of his/her child while the other parent has secondary physical custody or visitation rights.
