Connecticut recognizes two forms of child custody— physical custody and legal custody. A judge issuing a custody order must address both forms of custody.
Understanding legal child custody in Southbury is critical if you negotiate a parental responsibility agreement with your co-parent. Talk to a seasoned child custody attorney to ensure you are familiar with the implications of legal custody.
Legal custody is the right to make decisions for a child, such as consenting to healthcare, where they attend school, what type of curriculum they study, and whether they participate in religious practices.
Judges must prioritize the children’s best interests when making decisions affecting them. Unless there is reason to deny a parent decision-making responsibility, there is a presumption that shared legal custody supports the children’s best interests. A parent may be granted joint legal custody even if they are not granted physical custody of the children.
Family courts encourage parents to work together to resolve custody issues. A parent in a dispute about legal custody should seek representation from an experienced family law attorney in Southbury.
Divorcing parents or parents seeking custody orders must submit a parental responsibility plan to the court for review and approval. While a joint plan is ideal, when parents cannot agree, they submit their own.
The parental responsibility plan must address legal custody. Parents can choose to assign responsibility for a particular issue to one parent, or they can agree to make decisions jointly. When parents choose joint legal custody, their parental responsibility plan must include a provision describing how they will resolve disagreements.
A Southbury lawyer can help parents decide how to resolve disputes related to legal custody. One plan could give one parent the final say on a particular issue, or the parents might agree to take any disagreements to a mediator or arbitrator.
Parents sometimes agree that sole legal custody should rest with one of them, or a Connecticut judge may decide it is in the children’s best interests. A parent might be denied legal custody if they have an active substance abuse issue, a history of violence toward the co-parent or children, uncontrolled mental health challenges, or similar issues.
If a parent is denied legal custody and corrects the issue of concern, they can petition the court to modify the original custody order. Parents who do not have legal custody do not lose all rights regarding their children. According to Connecticut General Statutes § 46b-56(g), a parent without legal custody retains the right to review a child’s healthcare and education records.
In most cases, the parent with legal custody has the obligation to inform the other parent of significant happenings in the child’s life. A parent without legal custody has the right to make day-to-day decisions about the children during their parenting time.
This authority encompasses things like where the children can play, when they do their homework, what they eat at mealtime, and similar decisions. A Southbury lawyer can explain the breadth of a parent’s authority when they do not have legal custody.
Legal custody has nothing to do with the physical control of a child. It refers only to the legal authority to make certain significant decisions regarding the child.
Understanding legal child custody in Southbury is essential if you live apart from your co-parent. Contact our family law attorneys today for thorough support.
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