Opinion ID: 1939408
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Definition of Joint Custody

Text: This dynamic and emotionally charged field of law is unfortunately afflicted with significant semantical problems, described by one writer as a frightful lack of linguistic uniformity. [3] The inability of courts and commentators to agree on what is meant by the term joint custody makes difficult the task of distilling principles and guidelines from a rapidly growing body of literature and case law. What one writer sees as an amorphous concept another sees as a structured legal arrangement. While it is clear that both parents in a joint custody arrangement function as custodians in the sense that they are actually involved in the overall welfare of their child, a distinction must be made between sharing parental responsibility in major decision-making matters and sharing responsibility for providing a home for the child. Embraced within the meaning of custody are the concepts of legal and physical custody. Legal custody carries with it the right and obligation to make long range decisions involving education, religious training, discipline, medical care, and other matters of major significance concerning the child's life and welfare. [4] See generally P. Axelrod, A. Everett and A. Haralambie, Joint Custody, in Handling Child Custody Cases § 5.01, at 50 (1983); A. Berman and D. Kirsh, Definitions of Joint Custody, 5 Fam.Advoc. 2 (Fall, 1982); J. Ester, Maryland Custody Law-Fully Committed to the Child's Best Interests?, 41 Md.L.Rev. 225, 251 (1982); Joint Custody and Shared Parenting ch. 1, at 7 (J. Folberg ed. 1984). Joint legal custody means that both parents have an equal voice in making those decisions, and neither parent's rights are superior to the other. Physical custody, on the other hand, means the right and obligation to provide a home for the child and to make the day-to-day decisions required during the time the child is actually with the parent having such custody. Joint physical custody is in reality shared or divided custody. [5] Shared physical custody may, but need not, be on a 50/50 basis, and in fact most commonly will involve custody by one parent during the school year and by the other during summer vacation months, or division between weekdays and weekends, or between days and nights. With respect to physical custody, there is no difference between the rights and obligations of a parent having temporary custody of a child pursuant to an order of shared physical custody, and one having temporary custody pursuant to an award of visitation. Thus, a determination to grant legal custody to one parent and to allocate physical custody between the parents may be accomplished either by granting sole custody to one parent and specified rights of visitation to the other, or by granting legal custody to one parent and specified periods of physical custody to each parent. In either instance the effect will be the same. Proper practice in any case involving joint custody dictates that the parties and the trial judge separately consider the issues involved in both joint legal custody and joint physical custody, and that the trial judge state specifically the decision made as to each.