Practice Areas

Arizona Child Custody Law and Parenting Time Rights

Contact the Law Offices of Scott David Stewart in Phoenix for an attorney's advice and representation on any problem relating to child custody law or visitation rights in Arizona. We represent parents in divorce cases, unmarried parents with parenting time problems, and other persons such as grandparents, stepparents, or domestic partners whose ability to maintain an important relationship with a child can be threatened by a breakdown in the parents' relationship.

Child custody and parenting time are the terms used to describe the main issues parents face. Child custody refers to the responsibility to support and provide a home for a child, and is usually shared between the parents (joint legal custody) with respect to the most important decisions that affect a child's education, welfare, and health. In any situation where the parents live apart, however, questions as to the physical custody of the child must be resolved. Usually, one parent has primary physical custody, while the other has regular access to the child and overnight or extended visits under a parenting time arrangement. In some cases, the parents agree to shared physical custody, which means that the child spends half the time in each parent's home.

Parenting time or visitation refers to the right of the noncustodial parent to have regular access to the child. While divorce decrees provide for the parenting time arrangements determined by agreement or court order in dissolution of marriage cases, unmarried parents can also obtain regular and enforceable contact with their children through parenting plans as well.

When parents dispute the fitness of one another for primary physical custody, the matter is often referred to mediation in divorce cases. The parties can also agree to or be required to undergo a child custody evaluation, which can help determine which parent's custody will best serve the interests of the child involved.

Child custody and parenting time arrangements can also be modified on a showing of changed circumstances, such as the relocation of a parent to another state.

Both child custody and parenting time disputes must be decided according to the best interests of the child. To learn how we can help you achieve your goals in a manner consistent with the best interests of your children, contact Phoenix child custody lawyer Scott David Stewart.