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Shared Custody

A family law support or maintenance term referring to a situation where a child spends about an equal amount of time in the care and home of each of the two separated or divorced parents, and the parents share the legal rights in regards to the child.

There are as many variations of this as there are jurisdictions.

Some American states call this joint physical custody or shared parenting.

In Canada, the Child Support Guidelines defines shared custody (which then allows for a unique child support formula), as:

"... Where a spouse exercises a right of access to, or has physical custody of, a child for not less than 40 per cent of the time over the course of a year..."

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Unless otherwise noted, this article was written by Lloyd Duhaime, Barrister, Solicitor, Attorney and Lawyer (and Notary Public!). It is not intended to be legal advice and you would be foolhardy to rely on it in respect to any specific situation you or an acquaintance may be facing. In addition, the law changes rapidly and sometimes with little notice so from time to time, an article may not be up to date. Therefore, this is merely legal information designed to educate the reader. If you have a real situation, this information will serve as a good springboard to get legal advice from a lawyer.

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