In Minnesota, child custody is divided into two categories — legal custody and physical custody. Custody can be shared jointly or one parent may have sole custody. Understanding what these terms mean is important.

Legal custody means which parent will have the right to make important decisions about a child’s upbringing, including education, religion and health care. Joint legal custody is when parents share legal custody and both parents have input in the upbringing of the children. Sole legal custody means that only one parent has the right to make all legal decisions.

Physical custody determines which parent’s home will be the child’s primary residence. Physical custody can be awarded to one parent (i.e., sole physical custody) or shared (i.e., joint physical custody). The amount of time you have with your children is not determined by your status of joint or sole physical custody; it is rather determined by a concept called “parenting time”.

Parenting time refers to the amount of time the parent is entitled to spend with his or her children. The divorce decree or custody and parenting time order, will set out the parenting and specify when exactly each child will be with the respective parents. Having a a clear and well thought out parenting time schedule is important to avoid conflicts and so both the parents and child know what to expect.

When deciding on parenting time, a judge will evaluate what is in the child’s best interests. Parents, for the most part, keep their child’s best interests in mind and try to work together to come to an agreed upon parenting time schedule. However, agreement cannot be always be reached. If the parties cannot agree, you should have an experienced lawyer to help demonstrate to the court that it is in your child’s best interests if you are awarded custody and liberal parenting time.