No one wants to go through a divorce, and deciding who receives custody of any children can be the most difficult part of the whole process. Going through your divorce alone can make this process even more difficult, you need help from a Towson, MD child custody lawyer. As experienced family law professionals, we wanted to take some time today to talk about the child custody process.
The Difference Between Legal and Physical Custody
There’s a lot of legal jargon that you’re going to hear over the course of your child custody proceedings, but two terms you need to know are legal and physical custody. Legal custody refers to the authority to make decisions related to the child or children. This includes decisions related to education, religion, medical treatments, and any other major life decisions.
Physical custody refers to the child’s actual physical presence. This establishes which parent the child will be residing with. A parent who is granted physical custody is known as a “custodial parent”.
How Does the Court Decide Who Wins Custody?
Before any Towson, MD court can make a decision, there are a number of factors the judge will take into account. Here are just some of those factors:
Willingness of Parents to Share Custody
This basically just means that the judge will consider whether or not both parents desire to seek full custody, or if a joint custody situation would be more appropriate.
Health of Parents
The Towson, MD judge will consider whether or not both parents are fit to take care of a child, both physically and psychologically.
The Preference of the Child
If the court finds that the child is of an age and capacity to form a rational judgment, then the court may consider the preference of the child when deciding matters of custody.
Geographic Location of the Parents’ Homes
Assuming you and your spouse will no longer be sharing a dwelling, the court may take the geographic location of where each parent is living into account. The thought here being that they don’t want to uproot the child.
Get Help From an Experienced Towson, MD Child Custody Attorney
Here at Albers & Associates, we provide child custody services to Towson and other surrounding areas of Maryland. Let us help you with your custody case. Our team of Towson, MD divorce attorneys are standing by, so give us a call today.
