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In the event of the breakdown of the relationship between a minor child's parents, a court may define or modify a parent's access rights to the child within the context of proceedings for legal separation, annulment, divorce or child custody. Custody and access rights may be established in other manners, such as adoption or legal guardianship.
In the decades leading up to the 1970s child custody battles were rare, and in most cases the mother of minor children would receive custody. [5] Since the 1970s, as custody laws have been made gender-neutral, contested custody cases have increased as have cases in which the children are placed in the primary custody of the father.
If a parent seeks a custody order with the goal of maximizing child support, the effect could be to reduce the amount of contact that the children have with the other parent without regard to their needs or wishes. Payment is not made to children but between parents, and the payee is not required to account for how child-support money is spent.
Child custody consists of legal custody, which is the right to make decisions about the child, and physical custody, which is the right and duty to house, provide and care for the child. [1] Married parents normally have joint legal and physical custody of their children.
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Custody evaluation (also known as "parenting evaluation") is a legal process, in which a court-appointed mental health expert or an expert chosen by the parties, evaluates a family and makes a recommendation to the court for custody matters, usually including residential custody, visitation and a parenting plan. When performing the custody ...
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For child maintenance purposes, for example, the Child Support Agency and their successor, the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (CMEC) define parenting time in terms of the number of nights that the children stay with each parent.