In family law courts in Charleston and elsewhere in South Carolina, child custody is made up of two parts – legal custody and physical custody. Legal custody is, essentially, the ability to make decisions for the minor child. Physical custody deals with where the child primarily resides. Custody itself, whether legal, physical, or both, can be either “sole” or “joint”:
Sole custody – Where one parent is awarded the right to live with the children and make legal decisions on their behalf. The non-custodial parent has rights to visit with the child. “Sole custody” describes the most common form of custody. One parent (the custodial parent) is awarded sole custody of the child and the other parent (the noncustodial parent) has visitation with the child, typically on alternating weekends, portions of holidays, and a few weeks in the summer.
Joint custody – Joint custody can refer to physical custody, to legal custody, or to both physical and legal custody. When parents have joint physical custody (otherwise known as shared custody), the children reside with both parents for a portion of the time which may be split equally or unequally between parents based on issues such as each parent’s work schedule or whether the parents live in the same school district. When parents have joint legal custody, then both parents share in major decisions regarding the children’s education, health, and welfare, even if the children reside with one parent.
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