New York adheres to the doctrine of doing what is in the best interests of the child. Accordingly, the judge will determine what is in the best interests of the child and then award custody pursuant to that determination.  There are two aspects of custody: legal custody and physical custody. 

      Legal custody concerns the right of the parent to make decisions regarding the child in such matters as education, medical care, and religion.  Legal custody can be given to one or both parents. 

      Physical custody relates to which of the parents lives with the child.  In most situations, only one parent will get physical custody.  Judges prefer not to give joint physical custody, because they believe that a child should have only one home and that it is difficult to have a child reside with each parent half of the time.

      The parent who does not get physical custody will usually get visitation rights.  Visitation can be ordered in terms of reasonable rights of visitation or according to a specified schedule of visitation. Also, note that the parent that does not get custody pays child support. For further information, see our section on Child Support.