Child Custody

Legal Decision-Making Authority

In Arizona, legal decision-making authority is the title for legal custody. Under the law, legal decision-making authority means the right for a parent to make decisions for their children in regards to medical, education and religious training. The Court can order that parents either share joint legal decision-making or, sole legal decision-making. The Court may ordered a hybrid of the two, whereby one parent may have final decision-making authority in the event of a disagreement if they share joint legal decision-making. Another option, is the Court may divide up the three areas between the parents and give one parent final decision-making authority. For example, the Court may order that one parent has final authority in regards to medical decisions and the other parents has final authority in regards to education.

Visitation/Parenting Time

Child Custody, now referred to as legal decision-making authority, and parenting time are often the most emotional and complex issues in any divorce or family law matter. Melinda M. Sloma of Sloma Law Group understands this and is committed to assisting clients in the resolution of legal decision-making and parenting time issues with a minimum impact on the affected children.

Regardless of which parent is granted the majority of parenting time, the non-residential parent is almost always granted parenting time. Parenting time arrangements are negotiated between the parents or mediated and then approved by the Courts. Parenting time violations are not favored by the Court and can result in a change of legal decision-making authority, parenting time schedule and orders of protection. Melinda M. Sloma and her team at Sloma Law Group can help parents and grandparents with parenting time, child support and guardianship issues.

Arizona law does allow parents to write a parenting plan if they can come to agreements regarding custody (legal decision-making authority) and parenting time (visitation). It must be signed and in writing. The parenting plan is reviewed by the Court and made part of a decree of dissolution or legal decision-making order. A parenting plan will be determined by the Court if the parents are unable to reach agreements.

Any parenting plan must usually include the following:

• Provisions for how the parents will be involved in caring for the child and how major decisions such as education, health care and religious decisions will be made. This is called legal decision-making authority, formally known as legal custody. Legal decision-making authority will typically be joint if both parents are fit and proper and it is in the best interests of the child.
• A residential plan where the child will reside and when the non-residential parent will have parenting time. In some cases there is no residential parent and the child is with each parent fifty percent of the time.
• A provision that the parties will work with a mediator, counselor or member of the clergy prior to initiating Court action.
• A provision for periodic review of the parenting plan. The frequency of review is not specified in the law, but review every one to two years is common. The law does not require any particular type of review, and the review required by the parenting plan could range from a single discussion between the parents to a formal session with a mediator.

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