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Tough question: What IS primary custody?
- Thread starter SandieTN
- Start date
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huntersmommy06
Member
SandieTN said:
Primary Custodial Parent. The day-to-day rights and responsibilities associated with having your child in your home and being responsible for his or her care and upbringing.
Non-custodial parent. The parent who does not have physical custody of the child(ren).
More often than not, most states award one parent as the primary custodial parent, for LIVING purposes with BOTH parents sharing Joint Legal Custody.
Joint legal custody. The sharing of the right to make important decisions about a child's welfare by both parents. The right to share in making important decisions about the raising of your child, such as regarding health care, religious upbringing, education, etc.
This is from the SPARC site, under "types of custody":
"Be aware that in most instances, the parent who is designated the "Primary' parent (sometimes termed 'Primary Residential' parent) is, for all intents and purposes, considered to be the sole custodial parent in the eyes of the court. Even though the parents may have joint legal and physical custody with a 50/50 split, if the court has designated one parent as the 'Primary' parent, that is the person whose wishes will normally prevail. Joint custody is often awarded by the court in an effort to placate fathers and get them to settle. If the court has designated the mother as the 'Primary' parent, the father actually has no more say in the child's life than if the mother had been awarded sole custody."
In the book "Mom's House, Dad's House" it says "full custody", "sole custody", and "primary custody" all mean the same thing.
Then, according to a Pennsylvania website I found, they discourage the use of "primary custody" as there is not "legal" definition.
So, I am still confused! Any other opinions, or do we need to call the attorney for clarification?
"Be aware that in most instances, the parent who is designated the "Primary' parent (sometimes termed 'Primary Residential' parent) is, for all intents and purposes, considered to be the sole custodial parent in the eyes of the court. Even though the parents may have joint legal and physical custody with a 50/50 split, if the court has designated one parent as the 'Primary' parent, that is the person whose wishes will normally prevail. Joint custody is often awarded by the court in an effort to placate fathers and get them to settle. If the court has designated the mother as the 'Primary' parent, the father actually has no more say in the child's life than if the mother had been awarded sole custody."
In the book "Mom's House, Dad's House" it says "full custody", "sole custody", and "primary custody" all mean the same thing.
Then, according to a Pennsylvania website I found, they discourage the use of "primary custody" as there is not "legal" definition.
So, I am still confused! Any other opinions, or do we need to call the attorney for clarification?
have you found tennesee guidelines for custody yet? no other state guidelines matter, and will just serve to confuse your issue.
what do your court papers say pertaining to custody and final decision making?
in most states the parent with primary custody, is the one who provides the legal residence of the child. it does not always mean sole legal custody.
Joint legal custody, means that parents get to make the day to day minor decisions without input from the other parent while the kid is in thier care, but must consult on major issues such as schooling or medical. in some states the final decision goes to the parent who is the custodial and/or primary, in others it will be up to court.
in any case, a parent always has the option of going to court ANYWAY, if they feel the primary is making a seriously wrong choice.
what do your court papers say pertaining to custody and final decision making?
in most states the parent with primary custody, is the one who provides the legal residence of the child. it does not always mean sole legal custody.
Joint legal custody, means that parents get to make the day to day minor decisions without input from the other parent while the kid is in thier care, but must consult on major issues such as schooling or medical. in some states the final decision goes to the parent who is the custodial and/or primary, in others it will be up to court.
in any case, a parent always has the option of going to court ANYWAY, if they feel the primary is making a seriously wrong choice.
Thank you for your response. Father's court order states:
"that the Order be modified such that the primary custody should be with the petitioner Father"
and that's all it says. Nothing regarding physical, legal, residential or any other thing. No joint, no sole, no shared, nothing else.
I guess Husband needs to ask for a clarification, just to be sure. His attorney and BM's attorney both seemed to believe Mom did have "full" custody, and now Dad has "full" custody. BM's attorney told her Dad now would make the choice as to which school child would attend, just as she made the choice before without Dad's input.
Thanks again for trying.
"that the Order be modified such that the primary custody should be with the petitioner Father"
and that's all it says. Nothing regarding physical, legal, residential or any other thing. No joint, no sole, no shared, nothing else.
I guess Husband needs to ask for a clarification, just to be sure. His attorney and BM's attorney both seemed to believe Mom did have "full" custody, and now Dad has "full" custody. BM's attorney told her Dad now would make the choice as to which school child would attend, just as she made the choice before without Dad's input.
Thanks again for trying.
LdiJ
Senior Member
SandieTN said:
I think that he needs to go back to the ORIGINAL order and see what that says. If this is merely a change of primary custody then its likely that any other provisions in the original order would still be in effect. If an attorney wrote that order however the attorney did a half-assed job in my opinion.
Original orders were from when the child was in infant, and they stated custody with the Mother. (I don't have that order with me, but it does not distinguish legal, physical, etc.) The new order states order modified with Father having "primary custody", once again, nothing stated regarding legal and/or physical; that's where all the confusion starts.
They do NOT have a parenting plan; the orders are through juvenile court, and are supposedly exactly what the Judge ordered. We assumed (bad thing when talking about legalities, I know!) since Mom did have custody, and now Dad has custody that it meant full custody, since it made no distinction otherwise. The only thing I can find online re:Tennessee law was in child support regulations, with the difference being "primary" and "alternate" parent.
I guess only the Judge knows for sure what his intentions were.
Thanks for all your help!
They do NOT have a parenting plan; the orders are through juvenile court, and are supposedly exactly what the Judge ordered. We assumed (bad thing when talking about legalities, I know!) since Mom did have custody, and now Dad has custody that it meant full custody, since it made no distinction otherwise. The only thing I can find online re:Tennessee law was in child support regulations, with the difference being "primary" and "alternate" parent.
I guess only the Judge knows for sure what his intentions were.
Thanks for all your help!