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Navigating the complexities of child custody can present challenges in addition to the emotional strain for parents going through a separation or divorce. This process involves not only knowing your rights to child custody, but also carefully considering the well-being and future of the minor children involved. In this educational blog post, we aim to illuminate the critical aspects of child custody, offering valuable insights for parents, legal professionals, and family counselors.
Legal Aspects of Child Custody
Child custody revolves around two fundamental components: legal custody and physical custody. Legal custody pertains to a parent’s duty to make significant decisions concerning the child’s welfare, including education, healthcare, and religious upbringing. On the other hand, physical custody determines where the child resides on a day-to-day basis. The parties can have the following custody arrangements:
- Sole legal custody and sole physical custody
If you are awarded sole legal and sole physical custody, that means that you will have the majority of the parent-time with the minor children, while making all major decisions for the minor children. The other parent will still have parent-time; however, they will have minimum parent time pursuant to Utah Code Section 81-9-302. The parent with sole physical custody will have over 255 overnights per year. Sole physical custody does not necessarily mean that the other parent will have no parent-time whatsoever. - Joint legal custody and joint physical custody
If you are awarded, joint legal and joint physical custody, that means that one party will have at least approximately 111 overnights where that party will have one weekday overnight and every other weekend for parent-time, pursuant to Utah Code Section 81-9-303. You can also have a 50/50 parent-time arrangement, pursuant to Utah Code Section 81-9-305. The parties will also have a joint decision making when it comes to major decisions. - Joint legal custody and sole physical custody
If you are awarded joint legal custody and sole physical custody, that means that you will have the majority of the parent-time with the minor children, with the other parent having minimum parent time pursuant to Utah Code Section 81-9-302, but the parties will have joint decision making when it comes to major decisions. - Split custody
If the parties are awarded split custody, then each parent has sole custody of at least one minor child when there is more than one child. The parties may share joint legal custody of both sets of children, have sole legal custody of the children they have sole physical custody over, or some other variation.
For the advisory guidelines for a custody and parent-time arrangement, refer to Utah Code Section 81-9-202.
The Court has established specific factors that judges will consider when determining custody arrangements during a trial. These factors include, but are not limited to, the parents’ moral and financial conduct, the history and nature of their relationship with the children, their ability and desire to care for the minor children, and their willingness to allow frequent contact between the children and the other parent. The Court looks at what is in the best interest of the minor children. For more detailed information on how the Court determines custody, refer to Utah Code Section 81-9-206.
Is Trial Necessary?
Not all cases need to go to trial though. As a matter of fact, most of our cases settle before their case reaches trial, whether it be through direct negotiations or through mediation. You and the opposing party can work together and agree on a custody arrangement that is in the best interest for the minor children given the current circumstances of the parties and the minor children.
If you need help with your custody case, whether it be involved in a divorce case or not, we have family law attorneys that can help! Our child custody lawyers have immense amount of experience with custody cases and we have seen many different scenarios of custody cases. Contact us now by calling our office at 801-312-9330 or sending us a message on our secure text line at 805-835-4042. We would love to discuss your case with you!
