The law always seeks to protect children because they cannot protect themselves. Indeed children are vulnerable and need someone to ensure that they are safe and secure from hardships and misery in life. When a family falls apart, the law ensures that the children in the family have a safe home that they can go back to. New Jersey child custody law deals with issues facing the custody of children, in terms of who is the best person to take care of these children. It is always important to hire a family lawyer who has experience in child custody cases as he or she will ensure that the rights of the child are well catered for. When considering custody of the child, it is important to understand the types of custody that the parents are entitled to:
- Physical custody: This is the most common type of custody in child custody law. As the name suggests, this is where the children will live after the divorce. If one of the spouses was abusive or neglected the children, the other spouse will be given sole custody of the children. The abusive parent will either go to jail and or seek treatment for their behavior. There are times when parents are awarded joint custody. Here, the children will live with a parent at a time, according to the arrangement that the parents have with the court. The time allocated for the parents to spend time with their children is equal and non discriminatory.
- Legal custody: When New Jersey child custody law offers legal custody to a parent, he has the legal authority to make decisions that will affect the child’s future. This means that this parent decides where the child goes to school, religious upbringing, medical treatment when necessary and the kind of education that the child will pursue. When one parent has the right to make these decisions alone, the court has allowed sole legal custody to the parent. In cases where both parents have a say in major decisions that will affect the future of the child, it is called joint legal custody.
The aim of New Jersey child custody law is not to take the children away from the parents. The aim of this child custody law is to ensure that children are safe and protected and that their physical, financial and emotional needs are provided. In cases where the parent has not been allowed physical custody of the child, they will be given visitation rights. Here, the visitation will either be supervised or unsupervised. Unsupervised visitation allows parents to spend time with their children in their homes or at the park or any other place that is safe for child for a certain amount of time. In supervised visitation, an adult must be present.
New Jersey child custody law allows parents virtual visitation where they are able to speak to their children via the internet in cases where the parents are not available.
