Legal Question in Family Law in California
joint vs. sole physical custody
My wife left me and 2 kids (ages 12 and 10) about 5 months ago. She still has daily contact with the kids, actually 5 or 6 days a week. When filing for divorce we agreed on joint custody but I wanted sole physical custody. Me and the kids are still living in the house that me and my wife own. She is renting a room in a small condo 30 miles away. If I give her joint physical custody, can she remove the kids from the house at any time? Or given that they have been living here with me, does that limit her rights at all? How easy is it to change from sole physical custody to joint physical custody?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: joint vs. sole physical custody
In most day to day activities and responsibilities, the person with the Sole physical custody gets to call all of the shots, especially regarding visitation and housing of the children. It sounds as if the two of you have a fairly civil approach to the care and visitation of the children, congratulations, that is a big step. I would suggest that you write down your understanding with each other about specific visitation periods and housing for the children in the event that there occurs a misunderstanding in the future. Being clear and concise with these issues often avoids problems in the future. With respect to modifications of the custody, that is fairly easily done if both parties agree, if not, then just petition the court for a change and the court will set up a hearing date to resolve the problem...good luck
pdm
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