While the traditional concepts of "custody" and "access" remain in place under the Children's Law Reform Act, the Divorce Act was amended to remove any references to the concepts of "custody" and "access" with their winner-loser connotations, instead using the more child-focused concepts of parenting time and parental decision-making responsibilities. 

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Custody or decision-making responsibility refers to which parent has the legal authority and responsibility to make important decisions regarding the child's health, education, culture, language, religion, and significant extra-curricular activities. One or both spouses can have decision-making responsibility.

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Access or parenting time is often the term used to describe the time that children spend with the parent with whom they do not primarily reside with. It also includes the right to make inquires and the right to be given information about the child's well-being. Access visits can either be unsupervised or supervised, depending on what is in the best interests of the child. 

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Different types of custody arrangements include sole custody, split custody, shared custody, or joint custody. 

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Sole Custody:

 

Under a sole custody arrangement, only one parent has the responsibility and legal authority to make major decisions about the child's care, upbringing and education. Typically, the child lives primarily with the parent who has sole custody. The non-custodial parent is usually granted visitation rights. 

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Split Custody:

 

While split-custody arrangements are not very common, split custody cases are those where the parents have more than one child and each parent has custody of one or more of the children. The assessment of child support in split custody cases is dealt with under section 8 of the Child Support Guidelines.

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Shared Custody:

 

The term is defined as an arrangement where a child spends at least 40% or more of his or her time with each parent over the course of a year. 

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Joint Custody:

 

Under a joint custody arrangement, both parents share responsibility for making important decisions affecting the child. Neither parent has the right to unilaterally make major decisions about the child's care, upbringing and education. With joint custody, it is assumed that the parents can and will cooperate in exercising their responsibilities to promote the best interests of the child. 

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When parents have joint custody or shared parental responsibility for decision-making, the child may live primarily with one parent, or there may be a shared custody arrangement. People often believe terms like joint custody involves equal parenting time. Joint custody only relates to the decision-making authority and responsibility of each parent. It does not refer to the time a child spends in the care of a parent. 

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In cases where there is high conflict between the parents and where a sole custody order is not in the child's best interests, courts may order joint custody through a process referred to as "parallel parenting". A parallel parenting regime allows each parent to be primarily responsible for the care of the child and routine decision-making during the period of time when the child is with him or her. Parallel parenting ensures that both parents play an active role in the life of their child. 
 

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Best Interests of the Child

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The most important consideration in any custody matter is the best interests of the child, not the interests and rights of the parents. Section 24(3) of the Children's Law Reform Act and section 16(3) of the Divorce Act set out a list of factors to be considered when determining decision-making responsibility and parenting time including: 

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• The child's needs;

• The child's views and preferences, where it is appropriate;

• The nature and strength of the child's relationship with each parent;

• The plans proposed by the parents for caring for and raising the child;

• Each parent's willingness to support the child's relationship with the other parent;

• The child's cultural, linguistic, religious and spiritual upbringing and heritage;

• The ability and willingness of each parent to meet the needs of the child and to communicate and cooperate with the other parent;

• Any family violence, and the impact that the family violence has had on the child.

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Any parenting arrangement must be made with the child's best interests in mind. If you have more questions or would like to discuss your case with a knowledgeable family lawyer, you should not hesitate to contact us. At the Law Office of Laura T. Settanni, we can provide insightful representation throughout your child custody proceedings. 

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