Access is generally considered to be the right of children to see their non-custodial parent. The day to day care and control of children is often referred to as custody whilst guardianship generally refers to the wider responsibility for children eg their education, medical treatment and religious upbringing. Both parents may be guardians of their children although the custody of the children usually remains the responsibility of the parent with whom they are living. In some common law jurisdictions, joint custody may be a possibility but this appears to be the exception in the USP region. Joint custody would involve children residing with both parents - and this requires good communication between the parents who have to work closely together to avoid conflicts and to oversee their children spending, ideally, equal amounts of time with each of them.
Interim custody is awarded by the court where proceedings are still on foot.
The final order of the court may change the status quo. There is no presumption that children should always remain in the custody of their mothers. Both Kiribati and Tuvalu have a Custody of Children Act . The Acts are in practically identical terms and section 3 of both provides that the Court may make a custody order as it thinks fit on an application by or on behalf of any person. This Act takes precedence over the Custody of Children Act as it commenced on 1 st April 1985 and the latter Act commenced on 15 th April, 1974.