What do legal and physical custody arrangements look like in real life?

There are so many different possible arrangements and combinations of legal and physical custody (sole and joint). Here are some examples that show these concepts in real life. Remember, these are just examples—no two situations are exactly the same. There is no such thing as a “normal custody arrangement,” so it is okay if your situation is different than in these three stories.

COMMON EXAMPLES OF CUSTODY ARRANGEMENTS

STORY #1: Jessica is an 8-year-old girl. The judge gave her mother, Maria, sole physical custody, meaning that Jessica lives with Maria full time. Jessica’s father, John, recently returned home from prison and asked the court for visitation. The court gave him weekly visitation with Jessica, but not any physical custody. However, the court gave both Maria and John joint legal custody over Jessica, which means they both get to make important decisions for her—like medical decisions and where to go to school, etc. But only Maria has physical custody, meaning that only Maria is responsible for Jessica’s day-to-day care. To change this arrangement, John would need to go to court to ask for joint physical custody.

STORY #2: David’s parents, Carlos and Rashida, are separated, but the judge gave them joint physical custody and joint legal custody of their son. David lives with Rashida during most of the week (Monday-Thursday), and with Carlos on weekends (Friday-Sunday). Rashida and Carlos live in the same school district, so David can attend school normally during the week. Rashida and Carlos also share joint legal custody, which means they both get to make important decisions for their child—like medical decisions, where to go to school, etc.

STORY #3: The judge appointed Kerry’s grandmother, Mary, as her legal guardian, because both of Kerry’s parents were unable to care for her due to their drug addiction. This means that Mary has both sole physical and legal custody of Kerry. Kerry lives with Mary (physical custody), and Mary gets to make all important decisions for Kerry (legal custody)—like medical decisions, where to go to school, etc. Kerry’s parents do NOT have physical or legal custody of their child, but her father, Joseph, asked the judge and got supervised visitation with her. Kerry’s mother, Janet, is currently incarcerated and does not have visitation (but she can ask the judge for visitation rights while she’s in prison or after she gets out).