Joint custody or shared parenting is the legal situation that occurs when both parents maintain custody and custody of their minor children after the breakup of the couple (either a separation or divorce). When joint custody is granted, both parents maintain equal rights and duties regarding the upbringing of their children, allowing both to live with the children in alternate periods as determined by a judge.
This type of custody is becoming more frequent in many countries, being the opposite formula to the custody regime that has traditionally been more common: single-parent custody in favor of the mother.
Depending on what is agreed, the minors may temporarily reside in the habitual residence of the parent to whom it corresponds during that period, thus alternating dwellings, or it may be agreed that the minors always reside in the marital home and are the parents those who move alternately to exercise custody.
The fact that custody is shared does not necessarily imply that both parents share custody of the minor in periods of the same duration, since depending on the personal circumstances of each case it could be that although custody is shared, the minors reside for a longer time with one of the parents.
The main argument in defense of joint custody is in the well-being of the minor, allowing him to grow up having a relationship with both parents.
Generally, when there is a joint custody regime, the need for one of the parents to have to pay alimony or maintenance to their ex-partner to raise their child is eliminated, since both parents must be responsible for the minor's usual expenses.
It should also be borne in mind that for joint custody to be granted it is necessary to have the approval of the judge, who will take into account factors such as the proximity between the parents' homes, the preferences of the minors, the age of the children or previous care provided by each parent in the parenting process.
