You may have been the primary caregiver for your child throughout your marriage. And with your looming divorce case, you may not want this to change, especially for the sake of maintaining your child’s routine and sense of safety and security. With this, you may inform your attorney that you want to go for custodial parent rights. But before you initiate this full-fledged custody battle, you must fully understand what it is exactly that you are fighting for. That said, please read on to discover what it means for the court to name you as the custodial parent and how a seasoned Morristown child custody lawyer at Graves Andrews, LLC can help you get the outcome you want.
What does it mean if the court names me the custodial parent?
First of all, you must not make the mistake of assuming that being named the custodial parent means you have sole custody of your child. Sole custody would mean that you have exclusive legal and physical authority over your child, which is usually only granted if the New Jersey family court has concerns over the child’s safety with their other parent (i.e., history of neglect, substance abuse, mental instability, etc).
Constrastingly, you can be a custodial parent even if you are given a joint custody arrangement. In this role, you would have primary physical custody of your child, meaning they stay in your permanent residence and you handle most or all of their daily care tasks and essentials (i.e., meals, bedtime, hygienic practices, school attendance, etc). Meanwhile, you may share legal rights with their other parent, in which you both maintain the right to participate in major decisions regarding your child’s education, healthcare, religion, and more.
Does being the custodial parent affect my ability to relocate or move?
Being that the noncustodial parent is still involved in your child’s life, you are generally expected to facilitate the relationship between the two. This may entail more than consulting on your child’s education, healthcare, and religion. For one, you should ensure your child attends their scheduled visits with them. But also, you must keep them in mind before making any personal decision that may deeply disrupt their parenting time or involvement, such as relocating far away from them or moving to another state.
This is to say that having custodial parent rights does not give you the automatic permission to move around freely. And so, you may be expected to seek formal approval from the New Jersey family court that handled your initial custody case before a relocation, if the noncustodial parent is unwilling to consent to it outside of court. Here, you may have to justify your move as being something that would work in your child’s best interest (i.e., you will receive a higher income or more flexible work schedule, your child will get a better education or healthcare, etc).
If you wish to explore your legal options moving forward, please allow a competent Morristown family law attorney from Graves Andrews, LLC, to be your guiding force. Please schedule your initial consultation with our firm at the first chance you get.