The legal arrangement for the guardianship of children whose parents divorce or do not marry.

Custody involves the authority to make decisions governing children's welfare, the responsibility of caring for them, and the provision of visitation rights if there is a noncustodial parent.

Types of Custody

The parenting arrangements of divorced or unmarried couples usually fall into one of four categories. In sole custody, one parent (the custodial parent) is largely responsible for the care of the children. Although decisions about visitation schedules, holidays, and other such matters can be jointly decided by both parents, the custodial parent has ultimate authority to make decisions concerning the child (unless these decisions violate the custody agreement itself). The noncustodial parent has visitation rights. In the past, sole custody arrangements traditionally consisted of having children live with one parent and visit the other on alternate weekends. Today the trend is toward...