Custody

In Ohio, custody means the rights and responsibilities of parents to care for their children. When the judge issues a custody order, it will address these two parts of custody:

• Physical custody, which is the right to have your children mostly live with you. Ohio law calls the parent with this right the residential parent.
• Legal custody, which is the right to make major decisions affecting a child’s welfare and upbringing. This includes, for example, decisions about their medical care, religion, extra-curricular activities, or education. Ohio law calls the parent with this right the legal custodian.¹

Ohio courts use the term “allocation of parental rights and responsibilities” to talk about how parents’ rights are divided. A custody order is also called an “allocation order.”¹

¹ See Ohio Rev. Code § 3109.04(A); also see “Words You May Need to Know” from the Ohio Courts