Arizona legal guardianship
Forms, documents, and legal
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While you should always have all
Arizona legal guardianship form(s) you sign reviewed by a
lawyer, it takes time and money to:
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How does custody get decided as between a parent and a third party?
A third party non-parent such as a grandparent, stepparent, or an adult who has
a significant relationship with the child can establish legal rights to custody
and access. A grandparent can file an action or join a divorce action between
the parents under the Arizona grandparent rights statutes. Typically a
grandparent will be able to see the children on the days that their child has
access and no special terms are required in the custody orders to insure this.
Third parties can establish legal rights by filing a legal action known as in
loco parentis, under the Arizona in loco parentis statutes. This in essence
legally establishes the party to “be standing in the shoes” of a natural parent.
How does custody get decided as between parents?
In Arizona custody is established either by agreement of the parents or if the
parents are unable to agree, the decisions of the court. In either way the court
uses a “best interest of the child” standard to determine the final custody and
access (visitation) arrangements. If the parties are unable to reach agreements
regarding custody the court usually orders the parents to a custody evaluation
by which a psychologist or counselor will meet with the parents and children,
evaluate the circumstances and inform the judge what arrangements are in the
best interest of the children. The judge will make his decision after a review
of the evaluator’s report, the testimony of the parties and any relevant
witnesses and evidence.
Is there a presumption in favor of not changing custody arrangements?
Not necessarily, under Arizona law custody can be changed. However, there is a
one-year waiting period from the date of the last custody/visitation orders,
before a party can request a change. However, like most laws, there are
exceptions and if it was an emergency situation, the court will modify custody
at any time. Of course what a parent considers and emergency may not be
considered an emergency by the court. To change a custody order the parent needs
to file a petition for modification of custody with the court and show some
significant change in circumstance warranting a change. The court will then set
a hearing to hear the circumstances alleged to warrant a change and make the
appropriate modifications if necessary in accordance with the best interest of
the children. It is rare that the court will make a drastic change and usually
just make minor changes to the custody orders.
Is there such a thing as "standard visitation"? If so, what is it?
In Arizona the court has established Model Parenting Plan Guidelines. The Model
Parenting Plan is broken down by the age of the child and provides several
different arrangements per age bracket.
Because each families’ situation is unique it is hard to apply a
“one-size-fits-all” approach to visitation and the court will look at each
family on a case-by-case basis. However a typical nominal access schedule should
be every other weekend, one weekday night, a block of time for summer vacation,
and alternating holidays. This should roughly come to about one-third of the
year, or approximately 120 days. Parents should be flexible and allow deviation
within their schedules, however some parents wish to maintain a strict schedule
with little deviation. Of course it is presumed that a more consistent and
regular schedule is better for children, especially younger children.
What rules govern cases where the custodial parent wants to move away with
the children?
Arizona law requires that if a parent wants to move the children over one
hundred miles from their current residence that they most provide written notice
to the other parent. If the other parent objects to the relocation the objecting
parent must file an objection with the court. The court will set a hearing to
determine whether the relocation is in the best interest of the child. In
essence custody and visitation is being re-litigated.
What visitation rights do grandparents have, if any?
Grandparents do have rights and Arizona law provides specific rights for
grandparents although limited. Typically a grandparent will be able to see the
grandchildren during the visitation days of the parent. A grandparent can join a
divorce or paternity action to enforce their rights, this is called joinder. A
grandparent can obtain visitation rights when the parent (the grandparent’s
child) does not assert his or her own visitation rights. Again the court will
use a best interest of the children standard when entering orders regarding the
grandparents.
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