Dak Prescott and Sarah Jane Ramos’ Custody Plan: What Joint’ Custody Really Means

Dak Prescott and Sarah Jane Ramos may be navigating a very public breakup, but when it comes to their two young daughters, the focus appears to be firmly on keeping things as private as possible.

The former couple, who split just weeks before a planned wedding in Italy, moved quickly to establish a co-parenting framework, with Prescott filing a Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship in Texas. The filing seeks to name both parents as joint managing conservators, a term that has fueled widespread speculation about what their custody arrangement will actually look like.

According to legal experts, much of that speculation is rooted in a misunderstanding of the language itself.

“Legal custody represents what decisions (such as medical treatment, educational choices, etc.) can be made without consulting the other parent. The amount of time a parent spends with their children represents physical custody,” explains Jamie E. Wright, founder of the Wright Law Firm, who is not involved in the case. “It is possible to have joint legal custody if one parent has primary physical custody of the child. Many families operate this way.”

Wright emphasizes that the word “joint” is often misinterpreted.

“The term joint’ creates a large misunderstanding,” she says. “Joint’ simply represents a shared decision-making process. This does not indicate how much time each parent will spend with the children, nor is it representative of the final determination in the courtroom.”

That distinction is echoed across jurisdictions. Jennifer Brandt of Cozen O’Connor, who is not involved in the case, notes that “legal custody usually relates to decision-making authority for major decisions made on behalf of the child,” including education, religion, and medical care. “The physical custodian can make the day to day decisions for the child.”

In Texas, where Prescott and Ramos filed, the terminology shifts slightly, but not the meaning. Attorney Elizabeth Bass of ​​Berkman Bottger Newman & Schein, who is not involved in the case, explains that “joint managing conservator” means parents share decision-making authority, similar to joint legal custody.

“Parents may share decision-making rights but have an unequal parenting access schedule,” Bass says. “The two concepts can co-exist in different ways.”

“Sometimes joint decision-making means the parents are awarded spheres of decisions’,” Bass says, for example, “one parent decides major decisions regarding religion, while the other parent decides major decisions regarding choice of school.”

That complexity is why courts tend to look beyond labels altogether.

“Judges’ focus is on determining what is in the best interest of the child,” Wright says, pointing to stability, cooperation, and each parent’s ability to provide care as key factors.

Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Carole Lieberman adds that while joint custody arrangements are common, they can be difficult in practice.

Joint legal custody “ is often easier ordered by the judge than done in real life, because divorcing couples often have disagreements about how their child should be raised,” Lieberman points out. “For example, the parents have to mutually agree on what doctors the child goes to and what treatment they get, as well as what schools the child goes to and other educational issues.”

She notes that judges ultimately weigh which parent is “more psychologically and financially stable” and which is “more likely to consult with the other parent on decisions instead of just trying to make decisions on their own.”

For Prescott and Ramos, collaboration appears to be the goal. The pair postponed an initial court hearing in hopes of resolving matters privately.