Child Custody

Legal decision-making

Legal decision-making is a parent’s right to make the major, non-emergency decisions for a child — education, medical care, religious upbringing, and personal care. The court may award joint legal decision-making, where the parents decide together, or sole legal decision-making to one parent. Joint legal decision-making does not by itself mean equal parenting time.

Parenting time

Parenting time is the schedule of time each parent has with the child. Arizona public policy favors both parents having substantial, frequent, meaningful and continuing contact with their children, and courts commonly order equal or near-equal schedules where that serves the child’s best interests.

The best-interests factors

Every legal decision-making and parenting time order is governed by the best interests of the child under A.R.S. § 25-403. The court considers all factors relevant to the child’s physical and emotional well-being, including:

• The past, present and potential future relationship between each parent and the child
• The child’s relationships with parents, siblings and others who may significantly affect the child’s best interests
• The child’s adjustment to home, school and community
• The wishes of a child of suitable age and maturity
• The mental and physical health of everyone involved
• Which parent is more likely to allow frequent, meaningful and continuing contact with the other parent
• Whether a parent has intentionally misled the court
• Whether there has been domestic violence or child abuse
• Whether either parent used coercion or duress in obtaining an agreement
• Whether a parent has made a false report of child abuse or neglect

Domestic violence and substance abuse

Under A.R.S. § 25-403.03, significant domestic violence creates a presumption against awarding legal decision-making to the offending parent, and recent drug or alcohol convictions raise a similar presumption under § 25-403.04. If these issues are present in your case — on either side — they must be addressed head-on, with evidence.

Parenting plans

When joint legal decision-making or parenting time is ordered, the parents submit a parenting plan under A.R.S. § 25-403.02 covering decision-making, the schedule, holidays, exchanges, and how future disputes will be resolved. A well-drafted plan prevents most of the conflicts that bring parents back to court.

Modification and relocation

Orders can be modified when circumstances change, but as a general rule a parent must wait one year from the last order under A.R.S. § 25-411 — with exceptions, including danger to the child. A parent who wants to move with the child must give the other parent 45 days’ advance written notice under A.R.S. § 25-408, and the other parent may petition to prevent the relocation.

Custody issues arise inside a divorce, between parents who were never married, and years after a decree when a schedule stops working. Whatever the posture, the standard is the same — the best interests of your child — and it is important to have an experienced attorney present your side of it.

Guide: how Arizona courts decide custody