When dealing with child custody cases in South Carolina, including Charleston, the courts make a difference between two types of custody:

  • legal custody
  • physical custody

Both can be sole or joint.

Legal Custody

Legal custody gives a parent the power to make critical decisions about their child’s life. These are generally related to education, healthcare, general welfare, etc.

Legal custody may be given to one parent (sole) or shared (joint) between both parents.

Sole legal custody means one parent only has the right to make these decisions, while the other parent may have limited or no say in these matters. This is when the court comes to the conclusion that one parent is better than the other as far as handling responsibilities is concerned.

Joint legal custody lets both parents have an equal say in the major decisions surrounding their child’s life; even if the child lives mainly with one parent, both are a part of making decisions about their child’s education, health care, general welfare, etc.

Physical Custody

Physical custody is to decide where the child mainly lives; the parent with physical custody gives day-to-day care and supervises the child. It can be sole or joint as well.

Sole physical custody is when the child lives with one parent most of the time, and the other parent generally has visitation rights like regular visits every other weekend, holiday visits, and extended time during summer vacations.

In joint physical custody, the child lives with both parents, and the time is divided between the two households. This split can be equal or adjusted.

In South Carolina, it is the family court that basically decides which parent will get custody based on the best interest of the child. The main focus of the court is to make sure that the custody arrangement helps the child’s well-being and development.

For more information, visit https://charlestonlaw.net/divorce-lawyers-charleston/