Child Visitation

“Child visitation” is a term used in other jurisdictions for what Arizona calls “parenting time.” Historically, visitation referred to the time that a non-custodial parent had with a child. That meaning of the term was written out as part of Arizona’s sweeping 2012 changes that introduced the terms “legal decision-making” and “parenting time” in the place of legal custody and physical custody. The definition of parenting time was broadened to include the non-custodial parent’s time (although that parent is now called the non-primary residential parent). The term visitation itself was given an entirely new definition: It now refers to the time a non-parent is given with the child.