What does “placement” mean?
The law does not define it, and Hustrulid v. Stakebake, the Court of AppealsThis is the Court that hears appeals and special actions from the decisions made by the superior court. A panel of three judges reviews each appeal and issues a ruling. The Arizona Supreme Court is the only state court higher than the Court of Appeals.Read more about Court of Appeals declined to define it. From context, it is clearly a right akin to Parenting TimeThis is what it sounds like—this is when it’s the parent’s time with the child(ren). See A.R.S § 25-401(5). Prior to 2012, it was known as physical custody.Read more about Parenting Time, and more precisely, akin to being designated Primary Residential ParentIn cases where one parent is given more parenting time than the other, they are designated as the primary residential parent.Read more about Primary Residential Parent or being named the guardian of a child. But the Legislature has purposefully withheld the use of “parenting time” from the statute, suggesting that this right, while similar, is less than the right of Parenting TimeThis is what it sounds like—this is when it’s the parent’s time with the child(ren). See A.R.S § 25-401(5). Prior to 2012, it was known as physical custody.Read more about Parenting Time. All that said, the simplest explanation for PlacementThis is when a child is placed with a nonparent under a third-party rights petition. The third party essentially becomes the physical custodian of the child.Read more about Placement is that it is similar to having guardianship of a child.
