Custody

Custody in the Virgin Islands is the right and responsibility to care for and control a child under the age of 18.¹ There are two types of custody, physical and legal.

Physical custody is the physical care and supervision of a child and the right to have the child live in the parent’s or caregiver’s home.² The person with physical custody will make the day-to-day decisions for the child. A person with physical custody of a child is also entitled to receive child support from the other parent.

Legal custody is the right to make the major decisions in the child’s life, such as where the child goes to school, the religion the child practices, the type of medical care the child receives, etc. A person with legal custody also has legal access to any documents for the child, including medical and school records.³

¹ 16 V.I.C. § 116(2)
² 16 V.I.C. § 116(14)
³ See Knoepfel v. Knoepfel, 2015 WL 1389806 (2015)