Difference between joint legal and physical?

[Che]

What is the difference between having joint legal custody with parenting time and joint physical custody?  I originally thought I would ask for joint legal custody and two days a week visitation but then decided to go for joint physical as well as joint legal.  I thought that joint physical meant 50/50 but have since discovered that there can be unequal parenting time in a joint physical agreement.  So what exactly does having joint physical mean?  What are the advantages or disadvantages?  Thanks.

[Jade]

>What is the difference between having joint legal custody
>with parenting time and joint physical custody?  I originally
>thought I would ask for joint legal custody and two days a
>week visitation but then decided to go for joint physical as
>well as joint legal.  I thought that joint physical meant
>50/50 but have since discovered that there can be unequal
>parenting time in a joint physical agreement.  So what exactly
>does having joint physical mean?  What are the advantages or
>disadvantages?  Thanks.


I have joint legal with my ex.  I have physical custody of my kids.

The difference between between joint legal and joint physical is that with joint legal, one parent will have physical custody (the child spends more time with that parent than the other, BTW, it's not uncommon for a child to spend more time with one parent even in intact families) and the other parent has parenting time.  How much depends on the agreement between the two or the court order.  EOW and once during the week is standard where I live.  Both parents have the right to have input on major decisions, such as medical (not talking routine stuff here, like check-ups), education, religion.  Both parents have the right to all school and medical records.  Unless the court order states that one parent has the final say, if the parents can't agree on a major issue, they have to go to court to resolve it.

An example of this would be:

Let's say one of the parents want the child to go to private school and the other public.  Unless they can come to an agreement, they have to go to court to determine who is going to prevail.

Joint physical is where the child spends an equal amount of time with each parent.  There are some states who will order EOW and once during the week and call it joint physical, but that isn't a true joint physical set-up.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both.  One disadvantage being that it is really hard on small children and not all children do well in a joint physical arrangement.  

And in order for joint physical to even have a chance of working, the parents really do need to live in the same school district or a reasonable commute to the school (15-20 minutes is reasonable, an hour is not to give you an example).  

[gemini3]

It really depends on your state.  In my experience you do NOT, under any circumstances, want to agree to anything less than joint legal AND physical custody.  It has nothing to do with how much parenting time you get.  That should be set out in your parenting plan.

Basically, the person with physical custody is the decision maker.  That means that, if you guys disagree on something, she can do whatever she wants because she's got physical custody.  It also means that, if sometime in the future you decide you want the kids to live with you, you have to prove her to be unfit.  If you have joint physical you can modify the parenting plan and not have to ask for a custody change.

My fiance let his ex have primary physical because he didn't think there was a big difference and didn't want to fight.  Now he's realizing there's a BIG difference, and it's costing him a lot of money and stress to fix it.

Never give up any form of custody of your children.  

[gemini3]

Jade, you're incorrect.  Joint physical does not mean that they have equal parenting time.  The amount of parenting time each person gets should be spelled out in the parenting plan, and should take into account the child's age and needs.  

Physical custody determines who has the right to have the child live with them and make decisions about thier day to day care.  Legal custody determines who has the right to make decisions about the child's schooling, religion, and medical care.  

If you have joint physical the mom can still have the bulk of the parenting time, if that's what's best for the kids.  But you still have the RIGHT to have them live with you if circumstances change.  (And we all know they do.)  If you have only legal custody, you do not have the right to have them live with you.

The ideal situation is that both parents share legal and physical custody.