Custody is the care, control, and maintenance of a child. A child's parents are both presumed to be the natural and proper custodians. However, the court may be asked to determine the custody of children in some circumstances. The best interest of the child guides the court's decision. There are several types of custody:
Joint legal custody is when both parents retain joint responsibility for the care and control of the child and joint authority to make decisions concerning the child, even though the child's primary residence may be with only one parent.
Joint physical custody is where both parents share physical and custodial care of the child.
Sole custody gives a parent the primary responsibility for the care of the child. That parent makes all the daily decisions about his/her child's life.
See FAQs on child custody and child visitation for parties without an attorney.
Standby Guardianship allows a parent to transfer guardianship of their child to a specific person under certain circumstances, typically in instances where an individual is diagnosed with a progressive or chronic medical condition of which it is likely that they cannot recover.
A triggering event must occur to activate the standby guardian’s authority, to include a parent’s death, mental incapacity, or physical debilitation. As of July 1, 2021, a parent's detention, incarceration, or deportation have been added as a triggering event.
A parent may execute a written designation of a standby guardian at any time, with the written designation including the following elements: name, address and birthdate of the child affected; the triggering event; and name and address of the person designated as standby guardian or alternate. The written designation is then signed by the parent (or other designee) and delivered to the standby guardian as soon as possible. The designated standby guardian would then file a petition for approval as a standby guardian. The petition should include a copy of the written designation and any determinations of incapacity, debilitation, or certificate of death (if applicable).
More information: § 16.1-350. Petition for court approval of standby guardian
A power of attorney is a written document that authorizes one person to act on behalf of another. The person giving the power of attorney is the ‘principal’ and the person who is authorized to act on behalf of the principal is the ‘attorney-in-fact’ or ‘agent’. The principal must be able to understand the nature and consequences of the power of attorney at the time he or she signs it in order for the power of attorney to be legally valid. This decision is made at the time you sign it, so it is still valid even if you later become incapacitated (if the power of attorney is "durable").
You may want it for enrolling a child in school. Va. Code §22.1-3 allows a child to attend school in a Virginia school division for free “[w]hen the parents of such person are unable to care for the person and the person is living, not solely for school purposes, with another person who resides in the school division and is:… (iii) an adult relative providing temporary kinship care as that term is defined in § 63.2-100.” Va. Code §22.1-3 also says: “Local school divisions may require one or both parents and the relative providing kinship care to submit signed, notarized affidavits (a) explaining why the parents are unable to care for the person, (b) detailing the kinship care arrangement, and (c) agreeing that the kinship care provider or the parent will notify the school within 30 days of when the kinship care arrangement ends, as well as a power of attorney authorizing the adult relative to make educational decisions regarding the person.”
The cost to file a custody petition in the juvenile and domestic relations court is $25. You may qualify to have the fee waived if you are a recipient of federal public assistance programs such as SNAP. Contact your local Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court to see if you qualify to have the fee waived.
Connect to legal aid and immigration and naturalization resources and organizations in your areas at 2-1-1. Resources such as counseling and other family/social services, the path to citizenship, and other needs that impact immigrants and refugees can be found using 2-1-1. The Office of New Americans also provides immigration resources.