When parents are planning to live apart, they must address issues related to their children. One of the critical decisions they must make is who will have legal custody of the children. Understanding the rights and responsibilities legal custody conveys is essential, so you should reach out to an experienced child custody attorney to review the custody process.
Our team of lawyers has years of experience negotiating legal child custody in Hartford. We can help ensure the arrangement you and your co-parent come up with will work for your family and best support your children.
Legal custody is the lawful right to make decisions for your child. It refers to decisions on fundamental matters like healthcare, education, and religion. Day-to-day decisions about discipline for misbehavior, homework, screen time, and similar issues are usually the responsibility of the parent supervising the child at the time.
The Hartford parent with legal custody can consent to healthcare treatment for their child or decline it. They can decide what school the child enrolls in and must approve and consent to the child’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP), if they have one. The parent with legal custody can also decide whether the child attends religious services or receives this type of education.
Connecticut law favors joint legal custody in most cases. There is a presumption that children fare best when both parents have influence over major decisions.
Shared legal custody allows both parents to have decision-making authority over their children. However, it does not necessarily mean both parents have equal decision-making power on all the important aspects of their children’s lives.
If they choose, the parents could devise a parenting plan that allocates certain topics to each parent. One parent could be responsible for healthcare decisions while the other handles religious matters, for example. Even when parents divide decision-making authority this way, both are entitled to access to the children’s legal, medical, and educational records.
Parents who share legal custody must include a provision in their parenting plan addressing how they will resolve disputes. The parents may choose to consult a neutral third party when they cannot agree. They are free to develop another method, but a judge must approve the parenting plan. It is wise to work with a Hartford lawyer when deciding on what child custody dispute resolution method to include.
Parents sometimes agree that one of them should have sole legal custody of the children. Perhaps one parent has a demanding job or travels a great deal and has less insight into what would be best for the children. Courts often accept sole legal custody when the parents agree to it if the judge agrees it is in the children’s best interests, as described in Connecticut General Statutes § 46b-56.
Sometimes, a parent seeks to deprive the other of legal custody. A parent wishing to limit their co-parent’s legal authority over the child must prove that doing so will benefit the children. The law presumes joint legal custody is best for children, so the parent wishing to deny joint legal custody must have good cause for the request.
Sole legal custody might be granted despite a co-parent’s objection when there is a history of them emotionally or physically abusing the child. If a parent deals with active substance abuse or mental health challenges, this might persuade a Hartford judge that awarding legal custody to them does not support the children’s best interests. However, even when legal custody is granted solely to one parent, the other parent has the right to be informed of important decisions and retains the right to review healthcare, legal, and educational records.
Legal custody is the right to influence decisions that have a huge impact on the way your child will be raised. The law in Connecticut favors arrangements where parents share legal custody, but that is not always possible or desirable.
If you and your co-parent live separately, speak with a skilled family attorney about legal child custody in Hartford. They will explain the law and help you develop a legal custody arrangement that works for you and your children. Reach out today to schedule a consultation.
N/a
