Athens, GA Child custody terms

Athens, GA Child custody terms

When it comes to child custody in Athens, GA , there are a lot of terms that can get thrown around. Often, it can be pretty easy to misunderstand what precisely those terms mean. Firstly, the term like “custody” has a literal meaning. When you have custody of something, it means that it is physically in your possession. However, some parents would speak about their child as being a “possession” in the way that jewelry or a car might be a possession. Custody, as it relates to child custody, is a legal term, that carries with it very specific legal meanings and underpinnings that you should be know what a phrase like “full child custody” means.

In Athens, GA there are two specific concepts that child custody refers to. The first concept that child custody refers to is the area of legal responsibility and rights. Typically except when there is a compelling reason for the judge to hold otherwise, parents will share joint legal custody of their children in a divorce. Both parents have the right and responsibility to take decisions for the child in important fields including education, instruction in religion, and health care. When parents have shared or joint legal custody, both parents will have the total authority to act on the child’s behalf in these areas. Where only one parent has complete legal custody, then only that parent has the right to make these decisions. But, it is only in exceptional cases, like when one parent has been convicted of child abuse or endangerment, that there may be sole legal custody.

The second area that child custody refers to is physical custody. Having full physical custody of a child means that the child lives with you for vast majority of the time. But it does not indicate that the non-custodial parent cannot see the child, or that the child cannot reside with the non-custodial parent. It simply indicates that the child resides with you primarily. The non-custodial parent shall still generally retain joint legal custody even if you retain full child custody in the physical area. Besides, the non-custodial parent may still also have specific visitation rights that you must, by law, comply with even if you have full physical child custody.

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