Anyone who has experience with children who actually lose a parent through divorce knows that such a loss inflicts terrible suffering on the children. Toward the goal of preventing children from suffering the loss of a parent through divorce, the legal system has created the concept of joint or shared custody. Unfortunately, the legal system has failed to adequately define terms. The general legal definition of joint or shared custody is that both parents have legal rights and responsibilities for major decisions which concern the children. The general belief of parents is that joint custody means equal time with the children and that any and all decisions must be jointly made.
Some parents believe joint custody means equal financial responsibility for the children.
Anyone who has experience with children who actually are made to live equal time with each parent knows that many of those children suffer from a sense of instability and a sense that they have no home base. Teachers in our school system have shared with me horror stories about children who are deprived of going on school field trips because the parents can't agree about it and won't give joint approval and about children who are unable to select a class schedule because their parents can't agree. Finally, it seems quite obvious that equal financial responsibility for people who do not have equal financial resources is both illogical and unfair. The New Mexico statute states that joint custody does NOT mean equal time and it does NOT mean equal financial responsibility. That is, neither parent may make a decision or take an action that results in a major change in a child's life unless the other parent agrees or the Court allows it.