What are the types of custody in NJ?

In effect, there are nearly as many possible types of custody schedules as there are families. However, there are four main custody categories, types, or distinctions:

Keep your family together by choosing the custody arrangement that works best.

• Sole Custody: Only one parent is responsible for caring and providing for the child. Visitation may be included, and sole custody usually describes both physical and legal custody.
• Joint Custody: Both parents have responsibility for the child, either sharing or alternating physical and legal custody. NJ family courts generally prefer joint custody arrangements. Joint custody applies to either physical or legal custody, or both.
• Physical Custody: The parent lives with the child, and takes responsibility for making daily decisions about meals, bedtime, clothing, etc. Physical custody may be sole or joint, although with visitation, the other parent wouldn’t necessarily make the day-to-day decisions affecting the child.
• Legal Custody: The parent has authority over significant decisions in the child’s life, such as medical care, school selection, religious practice, and long-term plans. Legal custody may be sole or joint, but a physical custodian or parent with visitation rights wouldn’t necessarily have legal custody rights.

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Of course, NJ family courts grant more varieties of custody than those above. Allow us to be your resource when figuring out your parenting plan. For capable advice and practical knowledge about navigating the subtle differences between full, alternating, primary or residential custodies, call the Law Offices of Jef Henninger, Esq. for skilled legal service from tough, smart, and aggressive child custody attorneys in NJ.