Child custody is a term that refers to the group of rights and responsibilities that a parent carries with respect to his or her child. Child custody includes numerous concepts, some of which overlap and some that are very distinct. The term child custody can be further broken down into terms that shed additional light and provide a greater understanding of the respective parents rights and obligations with respect to their common child.
Generally, the parent who has custody of the child for the greater part of the year can claim the child as a dependent on the federal income tax return. There are several exceptions to the rule, such as the custodial parent releasing his or her right to the child's dependency exemption or where there are multiple support agreements.