Parental rights mean that you have the authority to make decisions regarding education, health and other issues of your child. Divorce disrupts the life of all parties involved, especially that of children.
Divorce laws have been constituted to save the children involved from as much damage as possible. Therefore children’s wishes are entertained when it comes to deciding child visitation and child custody rights. However some rights are reserved for parents, which are called parental rights. Parental rights include:
Child Custody
Child custody is the major parental right. The court gives a chance to both the spouses to settle-down child custody issue mutually. If the parties are unable to reach a consensus, divorce court decides for them. It either grants joint or sole custody. The decision is primarily based on the best interest of the child.
Joint custody is one in which both the spouses are responsible for making decisions regarding their child that includes education, living standards and medical facilities. Joint custody is considered a much better option than sole custody because in a manner both the parents are there for the child.
Sole custody is the one in which the court grants child custody to one spouse while the other one gets the
visitation rights.
Child Support
The amount payable by the non-custodial parent to the custodial parent is called child support. It is the parental duty of the non-custodial parent and parental right of the custodial parent. This amount is paid for the maintenance of the child. Child support is also one of the major parental rights after a divorce.
