Horenstein Family Law Blog
Joint Custody / Joint Decision Making
Posted: February 8, 2010
Many divorcing parents are confused by the term joint custody. Some people think of joint custody as sharing the residential time of their children equally: 180 days with mother, 180 days with father. Others believe joint custody means both parents work together to make decisions about the children: education, religion, when to get a driver’s license, braces even if they do not have the children living with them equally. In Washington, the residential schedule (where and when the children reside with each a parent) and decision making authority for the children (the right to make parental decisions on child’s education, religion,) are separate issues. The final parenting plan allocates decision making authority between the parents in addition to the residential schedule. This means a parent may have joint decision making authority on certain issues such as education but not have a joint residential schedule that gives each parent equal time with the children.
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