The Question:
My children currently live with their father, and we have a 50/50 custody arrangement in another state. I want the children to live with me. What court form do I need to file?
RJ Says:
Are your current orders from an Arizona county? I can only provide advice regarding how these matters are handled in Arizona.
Generally, the process begins with a Petition to Modify. Under Arizona law, legal decision making may be modified upon a showing that the other parent has failed to comply with the existing orders, or because of other significant and continuing changes in circumstances.
Parenting time may also be modified whenever doing so would serve the child’s best interests. However, the court cannot restrict a parent’s parenting time unless it finds that the parenting time would seriously endanger the child’s physical, mental, moral, or emotional health.
This is only a very general overview. There are additional issues to consider, including whether the court has jurisdiction and whether enough time has passed to permit a modification request.
Under Arizona law, the court is required to adopt a parenting plan that allows both parents to share legal decision making and maximizes each parent’s parenting time, so long as doing so is in the child’s best interests. In long-distance cases, that often means the child resides primarily with one parent during the school year and spends school breaks and summer vacation with the other parent.
There is no way to predict exactly what a judge will do. Your goal should be to present a clear picture of the life you can provide for your child compared to the life available with the other parent. While Arizona courts frequently order equal parenting time when circumstances permit, that becomes much more difficult when the parents live in different states.
If you intend to represent yourself, I would encourage you to review the resources available through Arizona’s Self-Service Center at https://www.azcourts.gov/selfservicecenter.
This is a very important matter, and you should not go through it alone. An experienced family law attorney can help you evaluate jurisdiction, modification requirements, and the evidence needed to support your request. We offer free 30-minute consultations to discuss your matter in detail and develop a plan.
Call (602) 256-7575 to schedule your consultation with an experienced Phoenix family law attorney.