Legal custody - sustany/dvg GitHub Wiki

Legal�custody involves having a legal responsibility for a child and making major decisions regarding the child, including the child's health, education, and religious upbringing: sole legal custody vests this right with one parent, while joint legal custody vests this right with both parents. Compare:�physical custody

When determining custody, courts generally consider what is in the �best interest� of the child. Factors the court may consider when determining what is in the best interest of the child include the child�s preference; the physical, emotional, mental, religious, and social needs of the child; the ability of the parent to meet those needs; the relationship between the child and the child's parents, siblings, relatives; educational opportunities; any evidence of domestic violence, child abuse, or child neglect in the proposed custodial household or a history of violence between the parents; �the length of time the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory environment and the desirability of maintaining continuity; and other factors.