What joint custody really means

Decisions about children after parents separate must always be made on the basis of one very important legal principle: What is in the best interests of the child? According to the Parenting After Separation Handbook developed by the Ministry of the Attorney General, province of B.C., there are many advantages when both parents are able to maintain a close relationship with their child:

• Improves the child's emotional well-being and recovery from the separation.
• Aids in the child's healthy emotional development.
• Relieves the child from feeling divided loyalties.
• Alleviates the child's guilt (why doesn't the other parent want to see me?).
• Helps maintain parental authority.
• Promotes parental willingness to provide financial support for the child.
• Gives the child an opportunity to develop an extended family identity.
• Demonstrates that parents can put aside personal differences enough to unite around parenting.

Mom's house, Dad's house
Joint custody (also know as shared custody) does not necessarily mean that the child or children will alternate equal periods of time with each parent. It is simply a commitment to shared parenting. "The child may live one week with the mother and one week with the father, or may have a primary residence with either parent. Joint custody allows input from both parents as to how the child should be raised."