What is the Difference Between Child Custody and Visitation in New Jersey?
Custody and visitation share much in common, but have many differences. Parental rights distinguish someone with visitation from someone with custody, and the two terms cannot be interchanged. Don’t be confused by the overlapping legal definitions or individual types.

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On its own, the right to visitation does not include the right to make virtually any decisions, unless cleared with the custodial parent or affirmed by the family court. Even the place where the visit occurs can depend on the other parent or the court to confirm.
The definition of legal custody gives a parent the authority to make decisions that pertain to the child. Physical custody means the parent and the child live together. Joint custody means the parents both enjoy some percentage of physical or legal custody rights and responsibilities, and we define sole custody as a parent with the power to make all decisions unilaterally.
Thus, visitation and custody differ in several major ways. Child visitation, also called parenting time, describes the amount of time a parent spends with a child. A visitation schedule will outline the days, times, and frequency with which a parent will be physically present or direct contact with the child. Normally, a visit lasts much shorter than a period of custody.
Visitation covers any time the child spends with the noncustodial parent. It can occur during the day or overnight, at the home of either parent, and either alone or supervised. A parenting plan where one parent has sole custody—and even joint custody arrangements—can allow for visitation, but not necessarily. Sometimes, even joint custody arrangements make allowances for visitation. NJ family judges also may award visitation rights to family members or other people close to the child. Any successful visitation schedule depends on both parents understanding the subtle nuances of their parenting plan, calendars, and family dynamic.
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The brilliant team of child visitation lawyers at the Law Offices of Jef Henninger, Esq. will fight for your family. We dominate NJ family courtrooms, and we can defeat any threats to your custody, visitation, or parenting time arrangements. Looking for the toughest custody and visitation attorneys in the Garden State? Call us at 1-855-9-JEFLAW now for a free consultation.
Posted on June 15, 2018, in FAQ, Visitation and tagged Attorneys in NJ for parenting time, Child Custody Attorney in South Jersey, Child Custody Attorneys, Child Custody Attorneys in New Jersey, Child Custody Attorneys in North Jersey, Child Custody Case Guidelines, Child Custody Lawyer, Child Custody Lawyers in New Jersey, child custody lawyers in nj, Child custody rights in New Jersey, Do I need a child custody lawyer, FAQ, jeflaw, Lawyers for Child Custody in New Jersey, lawyers in new jersey for child custody, Motion for Increased Visitation, Motion for Unsupervised Parenting Time, motion for unsupervised parenting time in NJ, Motion to get more parenting time in New Jersey, motion to suspend parenting time, New Jersey child custody laws, New Jersey Child Custody Lawyers, New Jersey child visitation attorney, New Jersey Family Court, NJ Child Custody, NJ Child Custody Attorney, NJ Child Custody Attorneys, NJ Child Custody Lawyer, NJ Child Custody Lawyers, NJ Child Custody Motion, NJ custody rights, NJ motion to increase visitation, NJ Parenting Time Lawyer, North Jersey Child Custody Lawyers, Parenting Time, regain visitation rights, South Jersey Child Custody Lawyers, Visitation. Bookmark the permalink. 1 Comment.
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