Joint Custody of Your Children

There is no one standard joint custody arrangement. Some parents alternate weeks with the children, others alternate months. Still others divide the children's time unequally, but in a manner that meets the needs of each particular family. Parents who work out these arrangements themselves are usually more creative than courts are when the parents can't agree. Legal custody, in which the parents share the right to make certain decisions for the children, can also be joint or divided in appropriate cases. Joint custody is not necessarily appropriate in every case.