When it comes to the law and regulations following a divorce and child custody, every state in the US has variations of what is permitted and expected. That being said; however, the law regarding this is similar in some manners when it comes to divorce and child custody.
Divorce:
As mentioned above, each state will have its own regulations regarding divorce in the US, and the only way in which couples will be able to get divorced is if they seek legal judgment from a court. If the divorce is granted, the couple will receive a judicial decree stating that the divorce has been dissolved. Once they receive the decree, they will be able to remarry. However, the timeframe for this is dependent on which state they reside in. The orders of the divorce will address different things, for example, if a property is involved or if child custody is involved. This is dependent on each case.
Once the divorce agreement has been written up, both parties will receive it and will have to sign the agreement in order for the divorce to become legitimized. If both parties sign at once, the process moves along a lot quicker. If there is a couple that cannot come to an agreement between themselves, they will have to seek legal counsel, and the process will take much longer.
All states in the US recognize a ‘no-fault’ divorce, which means that both parties agree that the marriage cannot be salvaged. Some states require the couple to live apart for a period of time before filing for a ‘no-fault’ divorce.
Child Custody:
Child custody is to be determined by what is in the best interest of that child following a divorce. According to American law, both parents of the child should be treated equally, and it shouldn’t be assumed where the child will live.
Joint Custody:
The two main options when deciding on child custody are ‘joint custody’ and ‘sole custody.’ Within ‘joint custody,’ either both parents can have a full legal say when making decisions for the child, meaning that parents need to work together when raising their child. Joint physical custody refers to the child spending an equal amount of time at each parent’s place of residence. This type of custody is provided by all states in the US.
Sole Custody:
The point of sole custody is that the child spends most of his/her time with one of the parents, who is also entitled to make significant decisions for the child by themselves. The other parents will be able to visit the child, which is referred to as ‘visitation.’ Under US law, the non-custodial parent will always be able to see their child unless they present as harmful to the child.
And so, it is evident that both divorce and organizing child custody will never be as straightforward as people may think. This can only be the case if both parties are in agreement from the start-which cannot always be the case.