custody of children

Australia's #1 for Law
Join 150,000 Australians every month. Ask a question, respond to a question and better understand the law today!
FREE - Join Now
Child custody is a legal term regarding guardianship which is used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent or guardian and a child in that person's care. Child custody consists of legal custody, which is the right to make decisions about the child, and physical custody, which is the right and duty to house, provide and care for the child. Married parents normally have joint legal and physical custody of their children. Decisions about child custody typically arise in proceedings involving divorce, annulment, separation, adoption or parental death. In most jurisdictions child custody is determined in accordance with the best interests of the child standard.Following ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in most countries, terms such as parental responsibility, "residence" and "contact" (also known as "visitation", "conservatorship" or "parenting time" in the United States) have superseded the concepts of "custody" and "access" in some member nations. Instead of a parent having "custody" of or "access" to a child, a child is now said to "reside" or have "contact" with a parent.

View More On Wikipedia.org
  1. D

    Can I as a father get full custody

    Hi, My son (6 years old) is living with his mother and he is with me two nights per week on average. We have shared responsibility. The mother no longer wants my son to live with her (She is with a new partner and I'm assuming that has something to do with her decision). My questions is: We...
  2. W

    VIC International Child Custody/Access/Order

    Hello everyone, I'd like to thank you in advance for taking the time to read this, I'm going through a really tough time right now because of this situation and have been struggling to find answers. I am an Australian citizen and my (at the time) fiancé is American. She fell pregnant in...
  3. S

    QLD Child abduction

    About a month ago my ex abducted my kids under pretext of taking them to an after-school sport as regularly happens. 5 minutes after she took them I received an email from her and then another from her lawyer. The emails basically stated she considered the kids weren't safe in my custody...
  4. H

    QLD Defamation - malicious false reports to QPS and Dept. Child Safety

    Hello - I'm hoping someone might be able to tell me whether the following is considered defamation: I'm currently a party of a very nasty custody battle in the Federal Circuit Court. The Dept. of Child Safety and Qld Police have just produced records through a subpoena and this is how I have...
  5. J

    QLD Custody of Children - Sue Family Report Writer?

    Hi everyone, Going through a custody of children battle at the moment and in the process had to employ the services of a family report writer very early in the process. The job this guy did was complete garbage. I was grossly misquoted on a number of things for starters and the recommendations...
  6. T

    Parenting Coordinator

    Has anyone got any experience with using a parent coordinator? Pros vs Cons? I’m after some shared knowledge and experiences. Thanks.
  7. C

    QLD Would a court or solicitor even entertain this?

    Hi - interested in the chances of my ex forcing a change to our current parenting plan or worst. My ex and I separated from a relationship just over 18 months ago. We finalised the settlement and parenting plan (not custody - but logged with courts) early this year. Since separation we have...
  8. jaxemjay

    NSW Child Custody Papers

    My children and I have just come through Family Violence. He was convicted 14 months ICO with rehab and AVO in place for children and I for two years. I thought we could breathe for awhile. Not even three weeks later I now have Federal Court papers for a date in December for him going for...
  9. D

    Extra days for special events.

    I have consent orders that outline time I can spend with my children. The mother who has primary custody, is insisting she has the fin a l say and has to approve the dates I request for visitation. We also have a clause about twk e tra nifmghts in my care for school events and special events...
  10. L

    NSW how to gain visitation after being incarcerated ?

    my partner is currently incarcerated but is hoping to gain some kind of visitation of his children once he gets out, there is a current avo between him and his ex partner (the mother of the kids) just wondering how to go about this ? and who or what organisation to talk to ?