Child Custody in Oradell

Child Custody Child custody issues often come up between divorcing or unmarried parents and can be the most emotionally stressful aspect of a family law case.

Understanding the Custody Framework

There are two main aspects of custody in New Jersey:

1.  Physical Custody: where the child will spend his/her time. Physical custody can be sole or shared.
2. Legal Custody: which parent(s) is/are responsible for decision-making on behalf of the child. Legal custody can be sole or joint.

The types of custody considered by New Jersey courts can include:

• Joint Legal Custody: this custody situation is very common in New Jersey, even when one parent has sole or primary physical custody. Under this scenario, one parent is usually designated as the parent of primary residence (the other as the parent of alternate residence) and both parents participate in making the major decisions concerning the child(ren)’s health, safety, education and welfare.
• Shared Physical Custody: this is a scenario under which a child spends more than approximately two overnights per week with each parent. Shared physical custody plans vary widely and range from plans where one parent has slightly more parenting time than under a sole physical custody plan, to plans where a child spends equal or nearly equal time with each parent.
• Sole Legal Custody: the custodial parent makes the major decisions that will affect a child’s life (e.g., medical choices, education, extracurricular activities, etc…), as well as the minor day-to-day decisions. The sole custodial parent is not required to give notice to or seek the consent of the non-custodial parent.
• Sole Physical Custody: this is a situation in which a child lives with the custodial parent most of the time and spends less than two overnights per week (or the equivalent), plus some additional vacation or holiday time, with the non-custodial parent.