What is the Difference Between Sole Custody and Joint Custody?
Under Georgia law, sole custody is often awarded to one parent in a divorce or legitimation proceeding. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the noncustodial parent has no rights to the child; he or she will have visitation with the child as agreed by the parties or as ordered by the court, and still is responsible for making child support payments. However, because the custodial parent has sole custody, the noncustodial parent has no authority to make any sort of decisions on behalf of the child. These decisions include major medical decisions, educational decisions, and religious upbringing. The parent with sole custody is the only one who can make such decisions. It is somewhat unusual under Georgia custody law for one parent to have sole physical and legal custody of a child; usually, the facts and circumstances surrounding a case must warrant an award of sole custody to a parent, such as if one parent is incarcerated for a lengthy period of time.
In contrast, joint custody means that the parents share certain aspects of the child’s custody, such as physical custody, legal custody, or both. If parents have joint legal custody, they must jointly make important decisions about the child’s upbringing, including health, school, extracurricular activities, and religious decisions. Joint legal custody is a very common type of custody order in the state of Georgia.
On the other hand, if parents have joint physical custody, they each spend roughly the same amount of time with the child. This type of arrangement is usually reached only by the agreement of the parties. Courts rarely will order a true joint physical custody arrangement in a contested divorce or legitimation proceeding. Joint physical custody can be an agreement by which the child spends every other week with each parent, half of each week with each parent, or some other similar schedule. Some parents who are able to work cooperatively with each to co-parent their child even may share joint legal and physical custody.
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Scott Shaw is founder and principle of Shaw Law Firm LLC, founded in 1995 and dedicated solely to divorce, family law and child custody matters that must be addressed and decided in the state of Georgia. Shaw Law Firm serves the greater Metro Atlanta area, particularly the counties of Fulton, Gwinnett, Cobb, Cherokee, Forsyth, Paulding, Henry, Fayette, Coweta, Newton, Walton, Bartow and Douglas. Schedule a consultation today at 770-594-8309.