Joint legal custody means the parents jointly make major decisions about the children such as religion, education, health care, and residence. Sole custody means one parent makes these decisions.
With either joint legal or sole legal custody, there must be an arrangement for the time-sharing of the child or children. Some counties such as Maricopa and Pima Counties have developed Access Guidelines to help the judge and parents determine the access of each of the parents to the child or the children.