Just about every single day we get a call from someone who wants "joint custody" of their child. Many want it for the right reasons and many more want it because they think that if they get it that they won’t have to pay for child support.
Rarely do Judges order a 50/50 split of the kids which is what a lot of people have in mind. But joint custody is not a 50/50 split, rather it means that both parents have the right to make decisions when it comes to thing like schooling, health, religion, etc.
You can actually have joint custody and only be allowed to see your child every other week for one hour.
Judge’s decide custody and visitation based on the best interests of the child. Nothing in the law says a mom gets it over a dad or a dad over a mom. But almost no Judge will order (you can always jointly agree to it) a 50/50 time split with no child support payments.
While we don’t think it makes sense, even if you are with your child 50% of the time, you will still pay the same child support as somoene who never sees their child if you are not ruled to be the primary custodian.
So pursue joint custody if you want to be able to make decisions. Pursue visitation if you want to see your child. Pursue custody if you think a Judge will believe it’s best for your child to primarily be with you. But don’t pursue any of this if you think you will outsmart the system. It just won’t happen.
A criminal lawyer that we know tipped us on to the defense a client was running by him when trying to decide whether or not to represent herself of hire an attorney.