What Is the Difference Between Joint and Sole Legal Custody?

Because lawyers enjoy making things difficult, there are two type of child custody.

Physical Custody vs. Legal Custody

The first type is physical custody. Physical custody is where your kids stay, specifically, where they spend their overnights.

For example, if you share 50/50 physical custody, that means one person has 183 overnights per year, and the other person has 182 overnights per year. (You don’t split an overnight, so someone has to have one more.)

The second type is legal custody. Legal custody is who gets to make big decisions for your kids. By big decisions I mean decisions about religion, medical care, extracurricular activities, and some financial matters. Essentially, legal custody covers the really important things in your children’s lives.

Two Types of Legal Custody

And to make things even more complicated (remember, we’re lawyers, we like complicated), there are two different types of legal custody.

The first type is sole legal custody.

The second type is joint legal custody.

The difference between the two come down to a couple rules:

If one parent has sole legal custody, he or she can make a decision for the kids without discussing it with the other parent.

If parents share joint legal custody, they have to work together and talk about major decisions and come to an agreement.

So, sole legal custody means one parent has all the control and authority and doesn’t even need to communicate with the other parent, and joint legal custody means parents have to work together for the good of their children.

Hopefully, you can see why Utah divorce courts prefer joint legal custody. They want parents working together to make decisions for their kids. And, to be honest, parents (even divorced parents) who work together tend to make better decisions than parents who act alone without discussion.

Now, there are times when joint legal custody doesn’t make sense. For example, if one parent is addicted to drugs or alcohol, there’s not much chance that parent is capable of making good decisions for his or her kids, so the other parent will probably get to do that alone.

For the most part, though, parents work together and share joint legal custody.

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Bill C

Carren and Jason were very helpful and quick to respond to my questions and concerns as we worked through my divorce, I would recommend them to anyone.

Response from the owner: Thank you, Bill.

James Herrera

I cannot say enough good things about Brown Family Law. Amy was my attorney and she was great! She always listened and responded quickly. Thanks to her, my case was resolved quickly. Thank you, Amy.

Response from the owner: Glad Amy communicated so well with you, James.

Jace Morris

Fast and kept me involved. Very professional team.

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Shaun Jorgensen

Best attorney ever. They were so helpful and responsive

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Christie Berube

When I started my case with Brown Family Law, they had 650 positive reviews. Now, about a year later, they have 820. Not sure how much else you need to convince you, but do yourself a favor and stop looking. You're in the right place.We worked with Nathaniel for nearly a year on our case, and trusting someone with something so vulnerable and close to you as a custody case is difficult, but he made it easy. His knowledge of law and experience with the court system allowed us to make educated decisions quicker. He helped me feel confident in very unfamiliar territory, and having someone like Nate on my team allowed me to make the best decisions possible for our family. He thought of many things I didn't, and gave us the roadmap to success for navigating a complicated and stressful situation. I found myself constantly bragging about our lawyer to family and expressing how impressed I was in his skill and his fearless nature of getting sh** done. Nate got that dawg in him, yanno what I mean?I like the way Brown Family Law works with their clients; it's different than other law firms, and I can see the benefits of those differences. It's always easy to contact someone at the office, and I get a response very quickly. They are extremely communicative, fast, and thorough. They run a tight ship, and it's obvious the quality differences from other law firms.This is a big and heavy decision, but Brown Family Law will take a lot of that weight off your shoulders. Ask for Nate--you won't be led astray.

Response from the owner: Christie, thank you. So glad Nathaniel was able to help you and that we were able to communicate with you so quickly.

Fer Esquivel Guillén

This firm is awesome but special shoutout to Dani, she is an outstanding paralegal. She is very knowledgeable

Response from the owner: Thank you very much for your kind words about Dani.

Karl Bench

I can't say enough about Russell Yauney at Brown Family Law! He has helped me on multiple cases over the years and has always exceeded my expectations. Russell is one of the good guys who isn't afraid to tell you how it is and isn't afraid to stand up and fight for what is right. I'm glad that I have Russell and his team in my corner!

Response from the owner: Karl, glad Russell served you well.

Ryan Farrell

very helpful to fathers who have been broke by the system and targeted for vaporization(1984). Thank you brown family law.

Response from the owner: You're welcome, Ryan. And thank you for the kind words.

Samantha Lachowsky

Nathaniel was my attorney and I couldn't ask for someone more attentive and level-headed than he is. They made my divorce process so much easier and were very patient with me as I navigated the entire process. Thank you Brown Family Law for all of your help!

Response from the owner: Samantha, thank you and so glad Nathaniel did such a good job for you.

Danny Fenstermaker

Used Nathaniel Garrabrandt for a child custody case. He is very good, very professional and available. Having been through this a few times that communication is very important. The only warning, and this isnt just Nate per se, but very very costly.

Response from the owner: Danny, thank you for recommendation. Glad Nathaniel has been able to help you.

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What Is the Difference Between Joint and Sole Legal Custody?

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