• Joint custody can refer to parents sharing legal and physical custody of a child or just legal custody of a child.mother and child image by citylights from Fotolia.com
  
  Joint custody can refer to two different situations: when the mother and father share legal and physical custody of the child, or when the parents share legal custody but only one parent has physical custody. Joint legal custody means that both parents make long-term decisions for the child, while joint physical custody means the child lives with both parents. In situations of joint legal and physical custody, a mother’s rights are the same as the father’s rights because they share the decision-making process and the physical child.
  
  

Best Interest of the Child

• When determining custody of the child, the court does not base the decision on the rights of the parents or on gender. Instead the court decides which household (or combination of households) are in the best interest of the child. Factors affecting this decision are: the age and gender of the child; the condition of each parent's home; the psychological and physical health of both parents as well as age, personality and stability of each parent; the child’s relationship with both parents and any other significant person in the child’s life; the effect of altering or continuing the current living arrangement; the child’s opinion; and the testimony of experts and investigators.
  
  

Benefits of Joint Custody

• Joint custody allows a mother and father to attend to their child's needs by allotting plenty of mother-child time as well as father-child time. Each parent can be involved in their child's daily life. Though the responsibilities of raising a child in joint custody are not always equal, both parents share the burden of daily child care and child expense. When the parents cooperate in this situation, the best interests of the child are met.
  
  

Cons of Joint Custody

• However, there can be a downside to joint custody if the parents do not get along. Scheduling and planning can be difficult, and the fighting can take a toll on the child. The constant moving between homes can become troublesome with schoolwork and other activities, such as sports equipment being left at the wrong house. Two homes fully equipped to tend to the child’s everyday needs becomes expensive. Sadly, the child could inadvertently become a mediator or messenger between quarreling parents.