I’m really confused about what this means for my legal custody. The Petitioner wants us to both be joint managing conservators, but they also want the exclusive right to decide where the child lives, including limiting it to El Paso County. They also want the right to decide daycare and school, and are asking for retroactive child support from me. Am I still going to have legal custody in all of this? Will I have any say in where the child lives? Any help is appreciated!
Yeah, this sounds like a joint custody thing, where you both share legal custody but the Petitioner gets to decide the primary residence. You’ll still have a say in big decisions, just not where they live or schooling, I think.
@Chen
So, the primary residence is basically up to the Petitioner, but you can still make decisions about other stuff? That’s good to know!
@Chen
Exactly, but it’s kind of a bummer because you’d have less say in the child’s living situation. Still, you get visitation rights and stuff.
The court will probably give you around 30-45% of the time with the child, depending on weekends and holidays. You’ll still share legal custody, but they’ll be living with the Petitioner.
Nora said:
The court will probably give you around 30-45% of the time with the child, depending on weekends and holidays. You’ll still share legal custody, but they’ll be living with the Petitioner.
That makes sense. I guess it’s important to think about the time I get too, not just the legal stuff.
Nora said:
The court will probably give you around 30-45% of the time with the child, depending on weekends and holidays. You’ll still share legal custody, but they’ll be living with the Petitioner.
Yeah, exactly! If you want more time with your child, you can ask the court to adjust things.
To me, it sounds like you’ll be able to make decisions, but not about where the child lives. It’s still joint legal custody but with some limits.
Sai said:
To me, it sounds like you’ll be able to make decisions, but not about where the child lives. It’s still joint legal custody but with some limits.
I’m still not sure what it means about the ‘independent rights.’ Does that mean the other parent can make decisions without me?
@Nori
Yeah, for things like healthcare or education, you both can make decisions on your own without needing the other’s approval. It’s kind of a mix of shared and individual rights.
Looks like the Petitioner wants to handle a lot of decisions, but you’ll still be part of the process. You just don’t get to decide where they live or handle things like school and daycare.
Honestly, it seems fair as long as you get visitation and still have legal custody. The Petitioner just has more control over where the child lives, but you still have a role in decision-making.