Are the terms legal custody and residential custody the same thing?

Posted on by Accel Admin

Are the terms legal custody and residential custody the same thing?

Pollack Child & Parenting

Discussing custody issues and decisions during a divorce, is a very emotional process. Custody is broken up into two parts which are called legal custody and residential custody. Legal custody is the decision-making of health, education, welfare, and religious decisions about the children. When we say someone has joint legal custody, it means that both parties have an equal say with what happens to the children in those areas of their lives.

Residential custody is where the children reside most of the time. Generally speaking, residential custody means that the non-residential custodial parent is the one that pays the child support to the residential custodial parent. Parties can agree to virtually any custodial arrangement that seems to be in the best interest of the children. If left to their own devices, parties are generally in a better position to negotiate and settle the issues of custody and parenting time between themselves rather than having a judge, who is a stranger to the family, make those decisions for them.

Robert Pollack is an experienced divorce and family law attorney in Long Island, New York. Contact The Pollack Law Firm, P.C., to set up a free initial consultation.

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