Custody
The legal right and responsibility to make decisions about a child's upbringing and where the child lives.
Custody refers to the legal authority over a child. In Minnesota, there are two types. Legal custody is the right to make major decisions about a child’s life, such as education, health care, and religious upbringing. Physical custody determines where the child lives on a day-to-day basis.
Courts in Minnesota decide custody based on the “best interests of the child.” Judges consider many factors, including the child’s needs, each parent’s ability to provide care, the child’s relationship with each parent, and the child’s adjustment to home, school, and community. Joint legal custody, where both parents share decision-making, is common. Physical custody can be shared or awarded primarily to one parent.
Why it matters: Custody arrangements shape a child’s daily life and both parents’ rights and responsibilities. A custody order is enforceable by the court, and violating it can have serious legal consequences.
Example: After a divorce, the court awards joint legal custody to both parents and primary physical custody to one parent, with the other parent having parenting time on alternating weekends and one evening per week.
Divorce cases, paternity cases, family court proceedings involving children