Making the best out of what you have Experts say that it is only common for people to feel depression, anxiety and defeat if life has been giving them so many tests and trials such as enduring a child custody case. However, instead of feeling depresses and sulking into the taste of defeat, people can use this as an opportunity to make themselves stronger by using these emotions and experiences to survive and motivate his or herself. About 20 percent of cases award joint custody, in which both parents enjoy an equal amount of custody rights over their children. In this child custody arrangement, parents are allowed by the courts to divide for themselves the custody rights as long as neglect or abuse is not involved. Custody rights entail both legal and physical responsibilities of the parents. You can use the Internet to get more information about that. Doing an online research can help you predict what will happen based on the similar cases you have read. It can also pitch you some ideas on what legal actions you can take if your ex-spouse is not following the custody and visitation order made by the court. Because of the very limited interaction of one of the parents to the child, this type of custody may lead to conflict between parents. Joint Custody This arrangement is used when parents agree to share decision-making rights over their child s upbringing. Usually, parents agree to coordinate their schedules so that joint custody will work. Between unmarried couples, the complications of the custody battle move on to another level. There are entirely new and different issues in unmarried child custody cases. The primary question is who gets custody of the child if the couple is never married? Ordinarily, unmarried fathers often fight for contact and child custody visitation rights to their children. If you are one of those who are in the process of appealing for child custody, then now is the time to know more about the term and the situation. Being aware what does child custody mean would somehow give you an idea the responsibilities that come with it. This term is applicable when dealing with matters such as exercising the right of the parents when making decision for their kids and of course, when one pertains to the duty of the parents to care their kids.