A child custody dispute can be a stressful situation and has a huge impact on the amount of time and say you have in your child’s life. Some might presume that a mother’s rights to be with children are stronger than the father’s rights once the marriage or relationship ends. In the state of Nevada, mothers and fathers start off on equal footing and a judge will take many things into consideration when determining what is in the best interest of the child. There are different custody arrangements so that the father’s rights, as well as the mother’s, remain intact so the children can benefit from having both parents in their lives.
Physical Custody
How much time a child spends in the care of one parent is referred to as physical custody. If parents share physical custody, the time is generally split at least 40% with one parent and 60% with the other parent.
Both father and mother have a right to physical custody of a child unless there has been a reason for the court to restrict time with the child for one parent. But unless there is some sort of a red flag, the State of Nevada wants the children to have both parents physically in their lives.
Legal Custody
Having a legal say in your child’s life concerning medical decisions, religious upbringing, and education decisions are called legal custody. Even if you do not have primary physical custody of your child, you still have legal custody so you can still help determine what kind of decisions should be made for the child to grow up happy and healthy.
Depending on the specifics of each custody case, different arrangements can be agreed upon that do not involve legal and physical custody for a child to be split evenly between parents.
Shared physical custody and sole legal custody can be when the child spends time with both parents but only one parent can make decisions for the child.
Sole physical and shared legal custody can mean the opposite of the above. The child is only in the physical care of one parent but both parents make decisions for the child.
Shared physical and legal custody may have the child living primarily with one parent but spending weekends or summer vacation with the other parent and both can make medical decisions for the child.
Limits to the legal or physical rights of your ex-wife go back to determining what is in the best interest of the child. Speaking with an experienced family law attorney will help you determine if joint custody is not desirable for your child’s wellbeing and how to pursue a different custody agreement. For the best representation in Las Vegas, give Warnock Family Law a call today.
