Parenting Time

Parenting time is called “visitation” or “physical custody” and legal decision-making is often called “legal custody” in other parts of the country.

Parenting time is exactly what it sounds like: the schedule of time during which each parent has access to a child at specified times and during which the parent is responsible for providing the child with food, clothing and shelter and may make routine decisions concerning the child’s care.

Parenting time usually includes a regular schedule, holidays, special days, school breaks and summer vacation. There are many options, and no one size fits all. Factors to be considered are the child’s age, attachment, temperament, and cognitive, language and emotional development. Helpful guidance can be found at the Arizona Judicial Branch website by accessing this guidebook:

https://www.azcourts.gov/portals/31/parentingTime/PPWguidelines.pdf.

Legal Decision-Making

Legal decision-making is the right and responsibility to make all nonemergency legal decisions for a child including those regarding education, health care, religious training and personal care decisions.

Legal decision-making can be sole, joint or joint with tie-breaking authority.

In deciding disputes about legal decision-making authority of the parents, the court considers the following statutory factors (A.R.S. §25-403):

• The past, present and potential future relationship between the parent and the child.
• The interaction and interrelationship of the child with the child’s parent or parents, the child’s siblings and any other person who may significantly affect the child’s best interest.
• The child’s adjustment to home, school and community.
• If the child is of suitable age and maturity, the wishes of the child as to legal decision-making and parenting time.
• The mental and physical health of all individuals involved.
• The parent that is more likely to allow the child frequent, meaningful and continuing contact with the other parent, except when that parent is acting in good faith to protect the child from witnessing an act of domestic violence or being a victim of domestic violence or child abuse.
• Whether one parent intentionally misled the court to cause an unnecessary delay, to increase the cost of litigation or to persuade the court to give a legal decision-making or a parenting time preference to that parent.
• Whether there has been domestic violence or child abuse.
• The nature and extent of coercion or duress used by a parent in obtaining an agreement regarding legal decision-making or parenting time.
• Whether a parent has completed a court-approved parenting class. You can access approved courses in Maricopa County here: https://superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/family/pip-providers/
• Whether either parent was convicted of an act of false reporting of child abuse or neglect.