Following a separation or divorce, it may happen that the parents decide to transfer custody of their child or children. There could be many reasons for why the parents agree to this – perhaps one is moving away but the child wants to stay in the current jurisdiction, or maybe life is simply are better for the child to be with the other parent.
Having child custody means that the child will live with you and you have the right and responsibility to make decisions on the child’s behalf. Child custody will be decided under the terms of the divorce or separation, as negotiated either by the two parties or as determined by the judge presiding over the case.
Naturally, if the terms of the divorce dictated that a child must live with one parent or the other because of concerns with safety, transferring custody of the child will be quite different and perhaps even impossible. If the split was on amicable terms, the process will be much more straight-forward.
In all cases, the best interests of the child are the primary consideration.
Types of Child Custody Agreements
There are three basic types of child custody:
Sole Custody: One parent has all legal responsibility and the child lives with that parent primarily.
Joint Custody: Both parents share the legal responsibilities of the child and the child spends time living with both parents. With joint custody one parent typically has primary residence of the children.
Split or Shared Custody: Combines physical custody with decision making whereby each parent spend 50% or approximately that amount of time with the child(ren).
The terms of child custody can be renegotiated to switch the type of custody involved, or to switch the amount of responsibility a parent has. To do this, the parents need to draw up an agreement or seek approval by a judge. This can be done with the help of a family lawyer. The final agreement will need to signed in front of independent lawyers representing each party and will need the signature of the parties as well in order to be effective.
This process is not extremely complicated and in many cases is a valuable or even necessary step to go through to ensure your child’s wellbeing is properly taken care of. Consult with a child custody lawyer in Barrie or in your region for help with this process, or for a consultation to review any special considerations that may be necessary for your case.