When children are born within a marriage, the father is assumed to be the husband of the mother. When children are born out of marriage, paternity may need to be proven before custody decisions are made. Once the question of paternity has been resolved, the courts may need to determine the following: Legal custody: this refers to the decision-making responsibilities for the child. A parent with sole legal custody over a child is responsible for making all key life decisions for the child, such as education, religion, medical issues, etc. In the vast majority of cases in Vancouver, decision-making is shared between the mother and father. Parenting (sometimes called "physical custody"): a child can rarely spend precisely equal time with both parents so, where the courts deem that parenting should be shared, a parenting plan must be created. This is enforced by the courtsto ensure that the noncustodial parent spends adequate time with the child.