Joint or Shared Physical Custody
Working together for your children--joint or shared physical custody
Shared physical custody of children following a divorce has become more prevalent over the last decade. While joint legal custody (which provides joint decision-making authority for the child) is quite often ordered by the courts, joint physical custody is still relatively unusual.
Joint or shared physical custody means that each parent has significant periods of physical custody of the child. The schedule could allow for monthly, weekly or other regular transitions between parents. The court takes a very close look at the circumstances to determine if such an arrangement would be in the best interest of the child.
Mississippi courts have historically held that, in the absence of exceptional
circumstances, it is not in the best interest of a young child to be alternated from parent to parent. It is unlikely then that a judge would order shared physical custody when the parents are not in agreement on the arrangement.
If, however, the parents agree that shared physical custody is in the best interest of their child and they can work out the details, the court may very well defer to their parental judgment. Parents who can amicably reach such an accord are much more likely to make a shared custody situation workable for the family in the long run.
A detailed parenting agreement will be important to managing shared physical custody. Parents need to consider school attendance areas (even if they live in the same school district now) and how to handle transportation to and from school and school activities. The agreement may even address responsibility for incidental expenses and how to deal with potential exchanges of clothing and other items.
In a shared custody situation, there may be an adjustment made to the child support calculation. The Mississippi child support guidelines are not usually adjusted for typical visitation but a deviation can be made in the event of a shared parental arrangement.
The bottom line in Mississippi is that parents who want to split custody of the kids will need to work towards a negotiated settlement. Talk to your attorney to see if this might be a realistic option for you.
