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After considering the best interests of the child, the judge (chancellor) can order one or more types of custody arrangements.
| If the chancellor gives you… | Then that means… |
|---|---|
| joint physical custody | each parent has:
|
| joint legal custody | parents share the right and responsibility to make decisions about the child’s health, education, and welfare.
Note: Parents who have joint legal custody must share information about their child with each other. They also have to communicate and work together when making important decisions.2 |
| joint physical and legal custody | parents share both the care of the child and decision-making rights. This is also referred to as “joint custody.”3 |
| sole physical custody | the child lives the majority of the time with one parent but can have visitation with the other.4 |
| sole legal custody | one parent has decision-making rights and responsibilities regarding the health, education, and welfare of the child.5 |
The chancellor can choose any combination of these arrangements that they believe will be best for your child. So, for example, they could grant:
- sole physical and legal custody to one parent;
- joint physical custody to both parents and sole legal custody to one parent; or
- sole physical custody to one parent and joint legal custody to both.6
1 Miss. Code § 93-5-24(5)(c)
2 Miss. Code § 93-5-24(5)(e)
3 Miss. Code § 93-5-24(1)(a), (5)(a)
4 See Miss. Code § 93-5-24(1)(d), (5)(b); see also Cox v. Moulds, 490 So. 2d 866, 870 (Miss. 1986) (holding that a non-custodial parent is presumptively entitled during reasonable times to overnight visitation with the children)
5 See Miss. Code § 93-5-24(1)(d), (5)( d)
6 Miss. Code § 93-5-24(1)(b), (1)(c), (1)(d)
