More details to this question:
I am going through a divorce and have a 4 and a half year old daughter with my husband. I have been taking care of her exclusively organizing every part of her daily life for over 2 years as he has been working overseas. Now he has returned and he is seeking joint custody requesting one week with him and one week with her. Excluding any mitigating circumstances (e.g. alcoholism, violence) what is the chance the court will grant this? I would believe the strain on making our daughter spend alternate weeks between us would be far too great for a child her age?
1 ANSWER
There are two kinds of custody in New York: legal and residential. Legal means decision making - what schools does the child attend, who are the doctors, etc. Residential means where the child lives.
It is extremely unusual for a court to grant 50-50 residential custody under any circumstnaces, particularly where the father has been absent for half the child's life. On the other hand, joint legal custody is the norm.
Answered on Jun 08th, 2014 at 5:00 PM