Child custody disputes can be one of the most difficult situations for a parent to navigate. They can be time-consuming and often involve heightened emotional conflicts between the parents (and potentially even children as well).
Whether your custody dispute is a part of a divorce, or you and the other parent were never married, you should talk to an experienced child custody lawyer at Colburn Hintze Maletta for assistance with your case.
When it comes to child custody issues, the attorney’s at Colburn Hintze Malletta aggressively fight for our clients and what is in their children’s best interest. Continue reading below to get a better understanding of the different key elements pertaining to child custody.
Child Custody in Arizona
Under Arizona law, child custody is broken down into two component parts, including legal decision-making authority and parenting time. ,.
Pursuant to ARS 25-401, decision-making authority refers to the ability to make major decisions about a child’s education, health care, religion, and personal care. This is also known as legal custody and may be granted to one (i.e. sole legal decision-making authority) or both parents (i.e. joint legal decision-making authority).
Parenting time, on the other hand, refers to the time each parent is granted to spend with his or her child, and is also referred to as .
In Arizona child custody cases, each parent’s amount of time with a child may be shared on an equal basis or a less-than-equal basis.
In fact, depending on the situation, some parents may only be granted supervised visits with their children. However, Arizona family courts tend to start with the presumption that a will benefit from having substantial, frequent, and meaningful contact with both parents, and will only grant limited time to a parent when there are concerns surrounding the child’s safety with the parent.
Arizona family courts ultimately enter parenting time and legal decision-making authority ordered based on the children’s “best interest” by considering the factors listed in ARS 25-40
Decision-Making Authority
In Arizona, the family court can order different levels of decision-making authority to each parent..
Joint legal decision-making authority means that parents have to make major decisions together. Unless otherwise ordered, both parents have equal decision-making power and a consensus must be reached.. If the parents cannot agree, they have to ask the court to resolve their dispute.
Within the umbrella of joint legal decision-making authority, it is possible for the Court to designate one party as having “final” decision-making authority. A parent with final decision-making authority is still required to consult with and give good faith consideration to the other parent’s views prior to making a decision, but has the power to override the other parent in the event of a dispute.
Another type of decision-making authority that might be granted is sole legal decision-making authority. Sole legal decision-making authority means that the decision-maker does not have to consult the other parent before making a major decision for a child. t. However, in this type of legal custody, the sole decision-maker must still keep the other parent informed about decisions for the child.
Regardless of the type of decision-making authority that is ordered by the court, both parents generally have the power to make routine care decisions for a child during his or her parenting time.
For example, even if the other parent has sole legal decision-making authority, you do not need to consult the other parent before feeding or bathing your child. Decision-making authority orders only apply to major decisions.
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