Legal parent
A person who is the biological or adoptive parent of the child and whose rights have been established and not terminated. See A.R.S. § 25-401(4). For biological mothers, such rights are established at birth. Fathers, though, must establish their rights to be a legal parent. See A.R.S. § 25-812(A). See also Presumptions of Paternity and Petitions to Establish.