Custody of minor children is often very misunderstood.  Document preparers and internet forms only add to the confusion.  Neither can explain the terms as they may apply to your situation and your unique facts.  The legal terms and their practical consequences are important to understand as you move through the process.

Basic Custody Terms

Custody is split into two parts, physical and legal.  Unless the parents agree, a judge will determine  physical and legal custody for each child.

Physical Custody: The actual living arrangements of the child and the rights and responsibilities associated with daily childcare. Often one parent will be called the "primary custodial parent".  This is not meant as reflection on the other parent but is usually based on the logistical reality the parents find themselves in.  Stability in school, continuing activities and maintaining friends and living situations often determine who is the primary custodial parent.

Legal Custody: The right to make decisions about the child's upbringing concerning education, health care and religion. Across town, the county or even the country, "legal" custody implies that you have the right to participate in all major issues and decisions that impact the children's lives.

Common Custody Solutions

Physical and legal custody can be apportioned in numerous ways.

Sole Custody: The child lives with one parent for all if not the majority of the time. The custodial parent also has the sole right to make  decisions that impact the children's lives.  In such instances, the non-custodial parent may be limited to restricted or supervised visitation.However, more often than not, the other parent may still have liberal visitation time. Nor does sole custody imply that the other parent has no role to play in the child's life. In fact the law recognizes that the non custodial parent has a significant role and obligation to provide moral, educational, religious and economic guidance to the child.

Joint Custody: In joint custody, parents share responsibility for major decision-making on issues such as education, religion, medical issues and other matters that significantly impact a child's life.  For instance, while parents usually need not consult and jointly decide on a sleep over, the law would expect them to do on the issue of where a child attends school or has plastic surgery. Parents need to be able to work together in the rearing of their children when they have joint legal custody.

Split Custody: This is a less popular option. Each  parent takes custody of a different child. Courts will rarely enter such an order absent compelling circumstances or an agreement between the parties.  Courts generally presume that it is in the child's best interest to remain with siblings.

Parenting Plans: All courts in Arizona require that parties set out in detail the time each parent is to spend with the children.  It includes provisions for holiday's and school breaks as well as the standard "day to day" time. The plan also contains important provisions about forming the business of "parents incorporated".  In other words it provides the parents tools to establish good communication and skills to parent the children despite living in different households. Links to parenting plans as part of a total form packet, along with instructions, can be found in the Self Help Section or you can  link to a specific plan in detail that is not part of a "packet".  The Parenting Plan form is "fillable" so you can even draft a plan directly from the form.

Guideline Visitation: The Arizona Supreme Court has adopted a Statewide guide to serve primarily as a starting place for discussions about parenting time. Named the Model Parenting Time Guide, courts will often use it as a "default" to in the absence of an agreement unless circumstances dictate a different outcome. The State guidelines also contain helpful discussions about appropriate types of visitation based upon age and maturity levels. The Guidelines contain a very helpful set of calendars that can assist parents in preparing a Parenting Plan.