Is sole custody the best option?

By: Lily Woods

When undergoing a divorce, parent may be under stress and mental hurt that influence him or her into getting full custody of their child or children.
But is this the best for you and your child?

There are two types of sole custodies, sole legal custody and another sole physical custody. Sole legal custody refers to one parent having full responsibility and decision making while sole physical custody refers to the child living with one parent but the other parent is entitled to visitations. Contrasting to this, joint legal custody means both parents have the rights to make decision for their child while joint physical custody means the child split living time evenly with both parents.

When fighting for sole custody, the case must present evidence that the other parent is unfit. Usually the other parent is non-custodial visitation while the responsible parent is required to provide information on the child 's development, such as education, medical or religious concerns. Sole custody is not commonly granted except in cases where the child is found to be abused by the unfit parent. Even so, supervised visitation may be granted and the court may rule therapy programs for the unfit parent. Other factors include mental illness and substance addiction.

Before filing for sole custody, think about your financial standing. The legal cost and the long court battle could easily runs into ten of thousands. The long court battle may also affect your career and health.
When in desperation, the other parent might use violence on you and there are many cases of kidnap.

Divorce itself is stressful and fighting for child custody can really damage someone emotionally. Do think of your child or children's future, consider who can be a better parent in terms of providing for your children. Having said this, there is no point fighting for sole custody just to get back at your spouse.

Added on: Nov 30, 2007

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