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Divorce: Two Types of Custody

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Divorce is complicated. Not only is the law extremely intricate, but the lives of each individual in a divorce are constantly changing. That makes a constant application of the law to the new facts necessary to properly understand your case. One of the most contested parts of a divorce is usually child custody. Child custody actually has two parts. Legal Custody and Physical Custody.

Legal custody is usually joint, meaning the parties share the legal custody of their child. Legal custody has to do with decision making and the sharing of information between parents. This means that in most cases, parents are required to work together to share information regarding their children and to work together to make major decision. Major decisions are decisions involving religion, education, and health. When parents cannot agree, the divorce decree should outline a process that the parents are required to follow before a final decision can be made regarding a major decision. Sometimes this requires consulting with experts like teachers, principals, doctors, clergy, etc. It may also include going to mediation. Ultimately, the courts can get involved if parents are unable to make a decision, or one parent is acting irrationally.

Physical custody is the other form of custody. This can range from one parent having sole custody to both parents having equal time with the children. Sole custody is outlined by state law and generally means the non-custodial parents has every other weekend and one midweek evening every week. However, if there has been child abuse, a long absence of the non-custodial parent, or substance abuse a non-custodial parent’s parent-time can be further limited in the best interest of the child. For the most part, a joint arrangement of some kind is created. Joint custody starts with the non-custodial parent having more than 111 overnights in a given year. The maximum time a non-custodial parent would have in a given year is 182 overnights. This would be a 50/50 arrangement.

Negotiating and writing these types of custody orders is extremely complex and requires an experienced attorney to ensure that the language actually says what the parties intend for it to say. If you have questions about custody, please call us for a free consultation!Ammon Nelson Law Divorce Attorney

Filed Under: News Tagged With: child, child custody, custody, divorce, divorce decree, legal custody, non-custodial parent, parents, physical custody, visitation

Divorce lawyers in Utah are not telling you the whole truth about your divorce or custody case. We are all trained to not only be divorce lawyers, but also to sell. Divorce is a very personal thing, and many people are skeptical about using an attorney at all. What divorce lawyers in Utah are not telling you is that you are not obligated to use an attorney. Is it a good idea to do your divorce without an attorney? NO! It is a terrible idea to try and do your divorce or custody case without an attorney. But the truth is, you could if you wanted to.

With the economy gradually improving, I have also seen divorce lawyers raising their rates. They ask for retainers of $5000 or more! At Ammon Nelson Law, PLLC we serve divorce and custody clients from Ogden, Layton, Farmington, Bountiful, Syracuse, Clearfield, Salt Lake City area, and even in the Provo and Orem areas. The best part is, we don’t require a $5000 retainer, nor do we nickel and dime our clients until your divorce results in bankruptcy. We believe your divorce should be the first step toward a healthy and prosperous future for you and your children. If you have questions, or are looking for a divorce lawyer near me, call us today!

Filed Under: News Tagged With: attorney, bankruptcy, Bountiful, Clearfield, custody, divorce, Divorce lawyer, Divorce lawyer near me, Divorce Lawyers, farmington, Layton, ogden, Orem, Provo, Salt Lake City, Syracuse

Child custody disputes are part of any divorce case where a married couple have children together and in any paternity action. You are probably familiar with the terms “Sole Custody” and “Joint Custody.” I have found that even though many people know these terms, they are not exactly sure what they mean. Throw in the term “Legal Custody,” and we have a giant mess. Let me help you untangle the mess with these hints about custody.

Physical Custody v. Legal Custody

Physical custody is the determination by the court about who the children will live with and how much visitation the other parent will have. Legal custody is the determination by the court about who gets to make major decisions regarding medical, education, religion, and other major events in the children’s lives. It also includes what information a “non-custodial” parent can have.

Sole legal custody usually means one parent (usually the parent with whom the children live) has the ability to make all major decisions for the children, and the other parent is simply entitled to information about the children (ie report cards, medical records, dates of events, etc).

Joint legal custody usually means that both parents must meet and discuss major decisions about the children before any decision is made. Sometimes it requires the parents to go to mediation if they cannot agree how to handle a certain situation with their children.

Sole Custody v. Joint Custody

Sole physical custody is where one parent has the children most of the time, and the other parent has only standard visitation (usually every other weekend). Physical custody is determined by overnights. That means that if a non-custodial parent has the children less than 111 overnights, the custodial parent has sole physical custody. If the non-custodial parent has more than 111 overnights, that parent has some form of joint physical custody.

Joint physical custody is often confused as being a 50/50 arrangements, where the parents have the children an equal amount of time. Actually, any arrangement where the non-custodial parent has more than 111 overnights is considered a joint physical custody arrangement. That means that there is a wide swing in how much time a non-custodial parent may have the children but still have joint physical custody.

If your head isn’t spinning by now, it will be as you try to negotiate a parent-time arrangement with the other parent. Ammon Nelson Law, PLLC focuses its practice on divorce and custody issues in the Ogden, Roy, Layton, North Ogden, Farr West, Harrisville, Farmington, Kaysville, Fruit Heights, and North Salt Lake areas. We can help you sort out custody and negotiate an arrangement that is not only good for you, but also for your children. If you have questions about custody, please give us a call!

CLICK HERE: Utah Guide to Divorce

Filed Under: News Tagged With: children, custody, divorce, farmington, farr west, harrisville, joint custody, kaysville, legal custody, ogden, overnights, paternity, physical custody, roy, sole custody

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