What are child custody and visitation rights?

In West Virginia, child custody and visitation rights are legally addressed in divorce lawsuits. Child custody and visitation rights are largely determined in the best interests of the child. Child custody is defined as the legal authority to make decisions about the child’s care, welfare, and upbringing. Custody may be sole or joint and may involve physical and legal custody. Physical custody is the right to have the child live with the parent and legal custody is the right to make decisions about the child’s life and is shared by both parents. Visitation rights refer to the right of the non-custodial parent to visit with the child. Visitation rights are usually written into a parenting plan that sets out the times and places for visitations, when allowable. Visitation may be supervised or unsupervised depending upon the circumstances. Generally the divorced couple is expected to share the costs of parenting and the visitation is usually assumed to be in the best interests of the child. However, courts may assign the child to one parent as the primary custodian if it deems that to be in the best interests of the child.

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What are child custody and visitation rights?

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