Legal child custody is the term applied to the ability a parent has to make important decisions on behalf of a minor child. Both parents may have legal custody of a child even if the child lives primarily with only one parent. Each parent has the right to make minor decisions for the child on their respective days. They must agree on major decisions such as schooling, non-emergency medical care, and whether or not to allow a minor to join the military, etc. Fathers who are absent or have shown a lack of interest in making decisions that are in the best interests of their children are less likely to retain their rights to legal custody. It may be up to the parent who has physical custody to make the case to a family court judge that the other parent should not have joint legal custody. Even in cases where visitation must be supervised for the safety of the child, courts do not always terminate legal custody rights of the parent in question.