Child custody: what it means and how it is arranged

Parental responsibility covers the full set of rights and duties parents have toward a child — custody of the child's person, managing their property, and representing them. After a separation or divorce, the rule is that parental responsibility is exercised jointly by both parents, unless that would not serve the child's best interests.

Custody deals specifically with the child's day-to-day care and upbringing — where they mainly live, who decides on everyday matters. It can be exercised jointly or, in some cases, entrusted mainly to one parent, with the other retaining the right to contact and to participate in major decisions.

The first and preferred way to arrange this is by agreement between the parents, recorded in writing — either as part of a consensual divorce or independently. Where there is no agreement, either parent can ask the court to decide the matter, which it always does with the child's best interests as the guiding principle.

A custody arrangement is not necessarily final — if circumstances change materially, a new arrangement can be sought, either by agreement or through the courts.