Evans, Georgia Child custody terms
In child custody in Evans, Georgia , there are various terms that can get thrown around. Generally, it can be very easy to misunderstand what exactly those terms mean. On the one hand, a term like “custody” has a literal meaning. When you have custody of something, it means that it is physically in your possession. However, few parents would talk about their child as being a “possession” in the way that jewelry or a car might be a possession. Custody, as associated with child custody, is a legal term, that has very specific legal meanings and underpinnings and you have to be aware of what a phrase like “full child custody” means.
In Evans, Georgia there are two specific areas that child custody refers to. The first area that child custody refers to is the concept of legal responsibility and rights. Generally except when there is a forceful ground for the court to rule otherwise, parents will share joint legal custody of the children in a divorce. Both parents have the right and responsibility to take decisions for the child in important areas such as education, instruction in religion, and health care. When parents have shared or joint legal custody, both parents shall have the full authority to act on the child’s behalf in these areas. If only one parent has full legal custody, then only that parent has the right to make such decisions. However, it is only in exceptional instances, like when one parent has been convicted of child abuse or endangerment, that there may be sole legal custody.
The second concept that child custody refers to is physical custody. Having full physical custody of a child indicates that the child resides with you for vast majority of the time. But it does not mean that the non-custodial parent cannot see the child, or that the child cannot live with the non-custodial parent. It just means that the child resides with you primarily. The non-custodial parent will still generally retain joint legal custody even if you have full child custody in the physical area. Besides, the non-custodial parent can still also have specific visitation rights that you should, by law, comply with even though if you have full physical child custody.
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Shawn Gunder is an Augusta GA divorce lawyer & Georgia Military Divorce Lawyer He is an Augusta military divorce lawyer, GA child custody attorney and Augusta Georgia child support attorney.
