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Legal custody is the right to make major decisions affecting the child, including medical, religious and educational decisions. There are two types of legal custody: sole and shared. Sole legal custody gives one party the right to make the major decisions concerning the child.

However, they may deny visitation rights to a non-custodial parent if it's within the child's best interests. Typically, this is reserved for cases where it is proven that the parent has a history of abuse towards their children.

In shared physical custody, the child spends nearly equal time with each parent. Judges prefer this, as long as it's in the child's best interests. In primary physical custody, the child spends at least 60 percent of their time with one parent (counting by where they spend the night).

Contrary to popular belief, Pennsylvania's custody law does not include the term ?full custody.? Instead, the law uses the terms ?sole,? ?shared,? ?primary,? and ?partial? when describing legal or physical custody. Legal custody is the right to make major decisions about, and receive information about, your child.

Minor Teens May Express Custodial Preference In Pennsylvania, minor teens and children cannot choose the parent they want to live with nor make any decision regarding custody. Only the parents or the court have the authority to make that decision.

Open a Case To open a child custody case, you must file your Complaint or Petition with the Clerk of the Court hearing your case. You must also pay a filing fee which can range between $57 to $300 depending on the court in which you are filing your lawsuit.