Legal Custody (Decision Making)

What Legal Custody Means

Legal custody refers to the authority to make major decisions about a child's life. This includes decisions about education, medical care, therapy, religion, extracurricular activities, and long-term planning.

Legal custody is separate from physical custody. A parent may have equal parenting time but not share full decision-making authority - and vice versa.

Courts generally assume that parents should share legal custody unless there is a safety concern, high conflict, or a demonstrated inability to cooperate.

Types of Legal Custody

Most states use one of these structures.

Joint Legal Custody

Both parents share decision-making authority.
They must communicate and collaborate on major decisions.
Neither parent can unilaterally make major choices without the other.

Sole Legal Custody

One parent has the authority to make major decisions alone.
Courts reserve sole legal custody for situations involving domestic violence, substance abuse, extreme conflict, or an inability to safely communicate

Hybrid or Divided Legal Custody

In some cases, courts divide responsibilities. For example
One parent may oversee medical decisions,
The other may handle education,
Both may collaborate on extracurriculars

This is less common in situations where parents have differing strengths.

What Courts Consider When Awarding Legal Custody

Judges evaluate several factors when determining whether parents can share decision-making authority, including:

History of communication and cooperation
Ability to make joint decisions without conflict escalating
Each parent's involvement in past major decisions
Any history of domestic violence or controlling behavior
The child's needs, medical complexity, or educational requirements
Each parent's willingness to support the child's relationship with the other parent

Courts avoid arrangements that place the child in the middle of chronic conflict. For a broader overview of how courts expect parents to allocate decision-making authority, see our guide to Creating a Parenting Plan.

What This Means for You

Legal custody describes how decision-making authority is shared or assigned between parents. These arrangements are structural rather than evaluative and reflect the needs and circumstances of each family.

“Parents who show cooperation, respect, and steady involvement are more likely to share this authority.”