• Split custody allows both parents custody of children.parents kiss son image by Pavel Losevsky from Fotolia.com
  
  When parents separate or divorce, it can be a difficult time for all involved, particularly for children. Often, parents cannot decide who gets custody without legal intervention, and custody becomes an issue for the state courts to decide. Though no state has established legal rules determining custody, joint/split custody is becoming more common in U.S. courts, with variations according to the kind of custody.
  
  

Best Interests Standard

• Historically, child custody decisions were been based primarily on the gender of the parents. However, since the mid-1970s, many courts are now determining child custody based on a new standard, one that recognizes the best interests of the child. Factors influencing custody decisions may include the resources available from each parent, the interests of the child herself, the ability of each parent to care for the child and any history of abuse. All other things being equal, courts typically try to award joint custody if possible, as a healthy relationship with each parent is determined to be in the child's best interests.
  
  

Split Legal

• Virtually every state distinguishes between legal and physical custody. In instances of split legal custody, both parents have legal custody of children. This means that both parents have a say when it comes to important decisions in a child's life, medically, educationally and otherwise. In some states, specific decisions may still be relegated to a single parent.
  
  

Split Physical

• This kind of custody involves the physical time that a child lives with each parent. Split physical custody allows the child to live with both parents at certain designated times, though in these arrangements, children may spend as little as 25 percent of the time with one parent. During the time that a child is residing with a particular parent, that parent is responsible for day-to-day decisions. While split legal custody is fairly common, split physical custody is less so. This is mainly because split physical custody is often deemed to be difficult for children. However, courts may order this kind of custody if parents appear willing to make it work and live relatively close to each other.