Parental rights and responsibilities (PR&R) is the legal term used in Vermont to describe child custody. In order to ensure the stability and well-being of the kid, this word encompasses two primary areas: bodily responsibility (also known as physical custody) and legal duty (also known as legal custody). An outline of PR&R’s operations in Vermont can be seen below.
Physical Responsibility (Physical Custody)
Who is in charge of the child’s daily need and where they live are determined by physical responsibility. Physical responsibility agreements come in a variety of forms:
Sole Physical Responsibility: When a child has primary custody, they spend at least 75% of their time with one parent.
Shared Physical Responsibilities: The child spends a lot of time with both parents and keeps in touch with them frequently, such as every other weekend or week.
Each parent has primary custody of one or more children under the split physical responsibility agreement, which is applicable when there are many children.
Legal Responsibility (Legal Custody)
The power to make important life decisions for a kid, including those pertaining to education, health care, religion, and travel, is referred to as legal responsibility. The following arrangements can be made for legal responsibility:
Sole Legal Responsibility: A child’s important decisions can only be made by one parent.
Shared Legal Responsibilities: Both parents have a say in how their child is raised.
When parents have several children and each parent is given decision-making authority over a separate child, this is known as split legal responsibility.
Parent-Child Contact (Visitation)
Unless it is judged to be detrimental to the kid, the other parent usually gets visitation rights when one parent has sole physical duty. Unless there is a risk of harm, Vermont courts place a high priority on keeping in touch with both parents. The court will include a visitation plan in the court order if the parents cannot agree on a visitation schedule.
Best Interest of the Child Standard
Courts in Vermont make decisions about custody and visitation based on what is best for the kid, not on the parents’ gender or personal traits. This guarantees that while deciding on parental obligations, the child’s needs, stability, and safety come first.
Parental Agreements and Court Orders
The court will make an order based on the parenting plan of the parents, even though they are urged to reach a consensus on custody and visiting schedules. After a hearing, the court will determine PR&R based on the particulars of the case if the parents are unable to agree.
Other Key Points
Unmarried Parents: Legal custody frequently hinges on whether the biological father has legally established paternity. Custody battles sometimes involve unmarried parents.
Jurisdiction: To decide whether they have the power to hear custody disputes, Vermont courts apply jurisdiction rules. Usually, these regulations are determined by the child’s native state and their ties to Vermont.
In general, Vermont law places a strong emphasis on shared parental obligations wherever feasible, giving judges the freedom to decide whether to grant sole or shared custody and to base their decisions on what is best for the child.
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