In Rhode Island, the legal division of time and
responsibilities relative to children has three components. The first is
Custody. Custody in RI does not mean where the child lives. Custody is the
right to participate in the decision making regarding your child. If you
receive joint custody, you and your
spouse must confer and jointly decide on how best to make decisions about your
child, and specifically their health, education and finances.
Sole custody grants one parent the final decision making
authority on these issues. Sole custody does not mean that the non-custodial
parent does not have a right to participate in decision making, it simply means
that the person with sole custody makes the final decision. The other parent
can still attend doctor’s appointment, school meeting s and the such. They can
also ask questions and engage the health care or school professional about
their child.
The term placement simply means where the child lives and is
generally domiciled. The placement parent is the person who receives child
support. The non-placement parent receives visitation with the child. In RI the
standard visitation for a non-placement parent is every other weekend and
generally some time during the week. However, as times are changing this model
is losing some favor. Judges have become more and more considerate to a request
by a non-placement parent for more significant visitation time with their
child. Of course the best interest of the child is always foremost and an
extended visitation request may not be successful if it would affect the
schooling or extracurricular events of the minor child. Judges are also keenly
aware of an attempt by one parent to negotiate a joint placement situation with
the sole intent of trying to avoid the payment of child support. Generally,
when the motivation by a parent is the avoidance of child support, the request
for joint placement fails.
Finally, if you receive placement, you will receive child
support. The amount of child support is calculated by a guideline so that
payments are more homogeneous. The child support calculator is easily found
online
