Shared Physical Custody is becoming more and more common in Connecticut Family Court This is true whether the case involves unmarried parents or parents going through a divorce.
Shared Physical Custody Lawyer – Fairfield and Stamford
Physical Custody, also known as Residential Custody, is where a child lives. So in a Shared Physical Custody situation, each parent has substantial parenting time at their place. Essentially, the child has two homes.
Shared Physical Custody means relatively equal parenting time. It does not necessarily mean an exact, equal division of parenting time. When parents count hours or minutes they lose sight of whats best for their child.
Although this type of Parenting Plan is trending, there are instances when it just will not work.
Here are some examples:
- Families with a lot of conflict – what us lawyers refer to as a “high conflict” case. The essence of Shared Custody is co-parenting. When parents cannot cooperate this arrangement almost always fails.
- Families with young children – usually under the age of 4. Most mental health professionals believe that these children need one, consistent home.
- A child with special needs usually benefits from one consistent environment.
- One the parents has “fitness” issues. For example, untreated mental health, substance abuse, criminal activity are at the top of the list.
- A history of the domestic violence between the parents.
- Geography can be a deal breaker. The proximity between the residences creates long days and unpredictability in a child’s routine. Its difficult to state how far is too far, Neighboring towns are certainly fine. General rule is the greater the distance the less likely Shared Physical Custody is best for the child.
You may contact me by email or by calling my Fairfield office at (203) 259-5251 or in Stamford at (203) 356-1475 for further information and to arrange a consultation about Shared Physical Custody.