The right and responsibility to make major decisions concerning the child. Major decisions include, but are not limited to, authorization for non-emergency health care, enrolling a child in counseling, choice of school, choice of religion, consent to marry, enter the military or obtain a driver's license, etc.
- Joint Legal Custody: A condition where both parents share legal custody and neither parent’s legal custody rights are superior to the other parent’s. The law presumes that parents will have joint legal custody.
- Sole Legal Custody: A condition where only one parent has legal custody.