Legal v. Physical Custody

Written by: Kaitlin Romanelli Myers

When determining child custody, there are two types of custody to be decided on, physical custody and legal custody.

Legal custody allows a parent to make major decisions about the child’s schooling, religious upbringing, and medical care. Parents can either share joint legal custody, or one parent can have primary legal custody. Joint legal custody means that parents will share the responsibility of making major decisions about the child’s life.

Physical custody allows the parent to exercise actual physical custody over the child and have the child live with them. Physical custody can either be joint, where each parent shares time equally with the child, or one parent can have primary and the other parent secondary custody.

Most custody orders will determine whether there is joint physical and/or legal custody, or primary physical and/or legal custody, or some combination of those options.

The family law attorneys at Hall Booth Smith, P.C. are here to help you through the child custody process. If you have questions about child custody or child custody modification, you should consult with an attorney to discuss the specific facts of your case. If you have a child custody matter in Asheville or the surrounding areas, you can call 828-232-4481.