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Legal Information: California

Custody

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Updated: 
January 11, 2024

What is custody?

When the court issues a custody order, it will address these two parts of custody:

Physical custody is the physical care and supervision of a child under 18 years of age. In other words, it addresses who the child will live with on a day-to-day basis.

Legal custody is the right to make major decisions about your child, like where your child goes to school, what kind of health care s/he receives, or what kind of religious training s/he attends.1

1 See Cal.Fam.Code §§ 3002-3007