Sending a legal notice is a proactive step that protects your parental rights:

• Asserts Your Rights: It puts on record that you are actively seeking custody and not abandoning your child.
• Demands Visitation: If you are being denied access, the notice formally demands a structured visitation schedule.
• Precursor to Court: It is often a necessary preliminary step to show you tried to resolve the issue before filing a Custody Petition.

Understanding the different forms of custody helps in drafting a precise notice:

• Physical Custody: The child lives with you primarily.
• Joint Custody: The child splits time between both parents (increasingly preferred by courts for the child's welfare).
• Legal Custody: You have the right to make decisions about the child's education, health, and religious upbringing.

Courts in India decide custody based on specific legal principles:

• Welfare of Child: The 'Paramount Consideration' for courts is not the parent's right, but solely the child's best interest.
• Tender Years Doctrine: Usually, custody of children under 5 years is given to the mother, unless she is proven unfit.
• Preference of Child: For older children (usually 9+), courts may consider the child's own preference.