“Full custody” in New York usually means sole legal and sole physical custody — one parent makes the major decisions and the child lives primarily with that parent. Courts can award it, but the bar is high: a judge must find that sole custody serves the child’s best interests, often because joint custody is unworkable (for example, where parents cannot communicate at all) or because the other parent poses a risk through abuse, neglect, instability, or absence. Even with sole custody, the other parent usually keeps visitation rights.
Parents often ask for “full custody” meaning they want the child to live with them and to make the decisions. In New York terms, that is sole physical custody plus sole legal custody. It is available, but New York courts generally favor keeping both parents meaningfully involved, so a judge will not grant sole custody simply because one parent prefers it.
Sole legal custody tends to be awarded where joint decision-making has broken down — where the parents are so antagonistic or out of contact that requiring them to agree on schools and doctors would harm the child. Sole physical custody is more common and simply reflects where the child mainly lives; many families have sole physical custody to one parent while still sharing joint legal custody.
The stronger the concern about the other parent — a documented history of domestic violence, substance abuse, neglect, untreated mental illness that affects parenting, or long absence — the more likely a court is to limit that parent’s role. But “full custody” rarely means the other parent disappears. Unless contact would endanger the child, New York courts protect the child’s right to a relationship with both parents, usually through visitation (now often called parenting time).
Because sole custody requests turn on specific, provable facts, parents pursuing it typically gather documentation and consult a New York custody attorney about what the court will and will not consider.
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What is the difference between full custody and sole custody in New York?
They usually mean the same thing in everyday speech: one parent has both sole legal and sole physical custody. New York law uses the precise terms 'sole legal' and 'sole physical' rather than 'full custody.'
Can I get sole custody if the other parent is absent?
A parent's long absence or lack of involvement is one factor a court weighs, and it can support sole custody. The judge still decides based on the child's best interests overall.
Does sole custody end the other parent's visitation?
Usually no. Unless contact would harm the child, New York courts preserve the other parent's visitation (parenting time) even when one parent has sole custody.