Child Custody

For parenting time, what must be decided goes far beyond just setting a regular schedule. There must also be orders regarding holiday parenting time, vacation schedules, communication between the parties, communication with the child when in the other’s parents care, and exchange protocols. By law, whenever parenting time is decided, child support must be decided as well.

A.R.S. § 25-103(A) requires judges to apply the custody provision in a way that promotes strong families and strong family values. A.R.S § 25-103(B) says that, absent evidence to the contrary, it is in the child’s best interest for both parents to participate in legal decision-making and for each parent to have substantial, frequent, meaningful, and continuing parenting time with both parents. This policy is significant because best interests of the child is the standard Courts use to determine legal decision-making and parenting time. In Woyton v. Ward, the Arizona Court of Appeals found this public policy means there is a rebuttable presumption that parenting time should be equal, but in Gonzalez-Gunter v. Gunter, the Court also found that courts are not required to order equal parenting time just because both parents can safely watch the child if equal parenting time is not in the child’s best interests.

In a broad sense, custody means “legal decision-making and parenting time.” But more specifically, the term “custody” is actually no longer used in Arizona. In 2012, the Arizona Legislature passed, and Governor Brewer signed, a bill that renamed custody as “legal decision-making and parenting time.” The thought was that many parents fought over “custody” without understanding what it really meant, so the Legislature reasoned if they made terms more descriptive of the rights involved, there would be less conflict over “custody.” So legal decision-making and parenting time are descriptive terms. Legal decision-making means the right to make decisions on behalf of your child when it comes to major decisions in the areas of healthcare, education, religious, and personal care decisions. And “parenting time” means the schedule of when the child is with each parent.

Broadly speaking, legal decision-making, parenting time, and child support.

In 2012, the Legislature changed the meaning of the term, custody because they were concerned too many people fighting for custody did not understand what they were fighting for. There was a feeling that some people pursued “custody” simply because it was what a parent is supposed to do. The Legislature thought if they made the terms more descriptive of the rights being pursued, parents could make an informed decision of whether it was something they wanted to pursue in Court. The Legislature hoped the change might lessen conflicts and litigation.  

You have a few options: The first option is to enforce the Parenting Plan by filing a Petition to Enforce. A Parenting Plan is a Court order, and the Court can enforce its order. It can do so by imposing penalties on the offending parent or requiring them to attend certain classes or counseling to help them learn how to co-parent. Another option may be to modify the Parenting Plan. Depending on the infraction, the Court could make small adjustments to the plan, put conditions on the parent’s time with the child or adjust parenting time and legal decision-making altogether. 

No. Arizona is a gender-neutral state, meaning it does not favor one parent over the other because of gender.

In an ideal world, judges are trying to create a situation where both parents are equally involved, and the child is safe, loved, provided for, and cared for. The parents communicate well with each other and both are involved in the child’s education and attend the child’s medical appointments, school events, and extracurricular activities without any drama whatsoever. That would be the ideal, but most cases are going to fall short of that—and many will not come anywhere close to that. In those situations, the child’s safety must be tended to first, but after that, the court and others have developed programs to help parents communicated better, coparent better, and keep the focus on what is best for the child. Attorneys are aware of these programs and can talk to you about what solutions might fit your situation. 

The answer depends a little bit on your circumstances, but generally speaking, you should be keeping a timeline of events that have occurred and any evidence you might have to support it. If for instance, the other parent sends you a nasty text message, you should have a place where you write down the date and what was said, and then print out the text message and save it with the other evidence you have.  

If the Court ordered you to do certain things, such as attend counseling or complete a parenting class, make sure you do that and keep a record of it. The items the Court requires of you are not only mandatory, but i the judge is signaling to you what changes the judge wants to see before increasing your access to the child. You may not agree with the judge, but we recommend you follow what the judge has required of you to increase your chances for a better result next time around.  

For spousal maintenance and child support, keeping your financial records so that you are ready to go on discovery and disclosure is important and can save you a lot of time and money when you are ready to modify.  

You must pay child support until your child is 18 and graduated from high school or until they turn 19 years old.