• In most jurisdictions, there is a rebuttable presumption that joint custody is in the child’s best interests. Joint-custody arrangements are favored unless there is so much animosity between the parents that the child or children will be adversely affected by a joint-custody arrangement. An award of joint custody does not necessarily mean an equal sharing of time; it does, however, mean that the parents will consult and share equally in the child’s upbringing and in decision-making about up-bringing. In a joint-custody arrangement, the rights, privileges, and responsibilities are shared, though not nec-essarily the physical custody. In a joint-custody arrangement, physical custody is usu. given to one parent. In fact, awards of joint physical custody, in the absence of extraordinary circumstances, are usu. found not to be in the best interests of the child.
— Also termed shared custody; joint managing conservatorship. [Cases: Child Custody 120–155.]
