The parent who has physical custody (or spends more time with the kid) is sometimes referred to as having main custody, while the parent who has visitation (or spends less time with the child) is sometimes referred to as having secondary custody. This is a legal term that means the parent who has primary custody can decide what happens with your children. For example, they can decide whether you get to see them on Christmas Day or not. It's important to know that just because one parent gets primary custody doesn't necessarily mean the other parent won't see their kids at all. For example, if a parent is in jail and another parent wants to see their child, the court may allow it even though primary custody is with another parent. Primary custody is usually awarded to one parent by default. If both parents want primary custody, then they must agree which parent will have it and present this agreement to the judge. Sometimes two parents can't come to an agreement about how to share custody so the court will use a formula called "joint legal custody" to divide up parenting responsibilities between them. With joint legal custody, each parent still has primary responsibility for their own children but they can also make decisions about the children together. For example, they could both agree that it's best for the children if one parent stays home with them while the other goes to school.