Primary Custody in PA
Going through a divorce or separation from your child’s parent is no easy feat. Apart from dealing with your differences, you’ll also need to resolve a number of issues involving your child’s welfare, including child support, visitation, and, most importantly, your custody arrangement. Below, we go into more depth about how primary custody works in Pennsylvania and how it may apply to you and your family.
Primary Physical Custody
There are a few different ways that custody can be distinguished. Most often, families will work together to choose one parent who will act as the primary physical parent of the children.
This means that the children will primarily reside with one parent, while the other parent will be given a set visitation schedule. The parent with primary physical custody will be referred to as the custodial parent. This is different from shared physical custody, where the children reside at both parents’ residences equally.
Establishing a primary physical custody arrangement will be important when you are considering child support, as the noncustodial parent will usually be the one paying child support to the custodial parent.
What Does It Mean When You Have Primary Legal Custody?
There are also decisions that need to be made regarding legal custody of the children. The parent who has primary legal custody of the children will be the parent who is primarily responsible for making important decisions about the children’s upbringing.
Such decisions might include where the children attend school, medical decisions, what religion they are raised within, which extracurricular activities or sports they participate in, and other major decisions throughout the children’s life.
This doesn’t mean that the other parent won’t have any say in these choices; that would be a sole legal custody arrangement. Rather, the parent with primary legal custody will consult with the other parent but ultimately be the one to make the decision in question.
Reach Out to a PA Child Custody Lawyer
If you are interested in obtaining primary custody of your children but aren’t sure how to go about doing so, work with a highly trained Pennsylvania child custody lawyer at Lisa Marie Vari & Associates, P.C. Our firm will fight for the best interests of your family.
You can schedule your initial case evaluation today by calling our office directly at 1-844-VARI-LAW (827-4529) or by filling out the quick contact form we’ve provided below.