Types of Custody in Pennsylvania

Odds are when you think of custody, you think of physical custody — the person with whom the child resides. Did you know there are two types of custody with seven variations? At the most basic level, a Court will decide what is in the child’s best interest. This will include whether one or both parents have physical custody -- that is the time each parent should spend with the child. The Court will also decide whether it’s better for one or both parents to have legal custody.

When two parents live together with their child, the parents share physical and legal custody. Once their relationship ends and one parent moves out, both parents exercising physical custody of the child becomes harder. Physical custody is the right to have your child with you, living in your home. Depending on the circumstances of the case, a court may award shared, primary, partial, sole or supervised physical custody.  

Shared physical custody means that each parent has custody of the child for longer than a visit. This is often a 50/50 split. Some examples of a 50/50 schedule include a 5-2-2-5, 4-3-3-4 or a 3-2-2-3 schedule. The patterns denote the number of days a child spends with one parent before going to see the other parent. A shared custody schedule prevents the child from spending too much time with one parent before seeing the other. This helps guarantee that the child will have continuing contact with both parents. Parties may choose to change to an every-other-week schedule with older children. But, a week-on, week-off schedule is not common with younger children.

In Pennsylvania, primary physical custody generally means that one parent has, at the very least, more overnights with the child than the other. It may also dictate the child’s address for school. Contrary to primary physical custody, a parent with partial physical custody spends a limited amount of time with the child. If your case includes factors like substance abuse, anger issues or general safety concerns, the Court may order supervised visitation. A supervisor may be a friend, family member, or a representative from an organization that facilitates supervised visitation. If an organization facilitates the supervised visitation, the parent awarded the supervised visitation will most likely be responsible for any fees. 

In some cases, the Court determines that it is in the child’s best interest for only one parent to have physical and legal custody. If so, they will award that parent sole custody. Courts rarely award sole physical custody to one parent though. 

Legal custody is the right to make decisions for the child. Think medical, religious and educational decisions. Parents may enjoy shared legal custody, or one parent may have sole legal custody of the child. Unless there is a court order or an agreement otherwise, both parents have shared legal custody of their child. Shared legal custody means that parents need to consult with and keep each other informed of decisions. In a perfect world, both parents will work together to make the best decision for their child.

Modification of existing custody orders may happen if doing so is in the child’s best interest. Although some states require a material change in circumstances, Pennsylvania does not. It is important to remember that what is in the child’s best interest is unlikely to have shifted unless there has been a change in circumstances.

Feel free to give us a call at 724-550-6970 should your custody issues cause confusion.

*Disclaimer: the advice provided is for informational purposes and is not intended as legal advice.  It should not be relied on, nor construed as creating an attorney-client relationship.