At Provident Law®, we understand that few legal issues are as emotionally charged and deeply personal as parenting time orders. Whether you’re navigating a divorce, separation, or a modification of an existing arrangement, our Scottsdale family law attorneys are here to advocate for your parental rights and your child’s best interests. We provide thoughtful, strategic support to help you establish fair parenting time orders that reflect your family’s unique needs. Contact Provident Law® today to learn how we can help you move forward with your parenting time case.
Parenting Time Options Under Arizona Law
A parenting time order determines where children live and how much time they spend with each parent. Two basic options exist for parenting time orders:
- One parent is the primary residential parent, meaning that the children primarily live with one parent.
- The parents have equal parenting time. Schedules may vary, but some children alternate weeks between parents. Another common arrangement is the 5-2-2-5 schedule, under which children spend two days of each week with each parent and alternate weekends.
The other major component of parenting time is the parents’ legal decision-making authority, or which parent has the right to make major decisions concerning their children’s lives. Major decisions typically involve educational decisions, such as where children go to school, medical decisions, such as what care children receive, and the religion to which children are exposed. Three main alternatives exist for legal decision-making authority:
- One parent has sole legal decision-making authority, or the exclusive right to make all major decisions for the children.
- The parents share joint legal decision-making authority, in that they must agree on all major decisions for the children.
- The parents share joint legal decision-making authority, but one parent has final decision-making authority. In other words, if the parents cannot agree on a major decision regarding their children, one parent has the right to make it.
However, joint legal decision-making authority does not necessarily mean that the children spend equal time with each parent.
The Best Interests of the Child
Under A.R.S. § 25-403, decisions about parenting time all rely on one standard: the best interests of the child. Courts consider various factors in deciding what parenting time arrangements are in a child’s best interests, including the following:
- The past, present, and potential future relationship between parent and child
- The interaction and interrelationship of the child with his or her family
- The child’s adjustment to home, school, and community
- The child’s wishes, if he or she is of suitable age and maturity.
- The mental and physical health of all individuals involved.
- Which parent is more likely to allow the child frequent, meaningful, and continuing contact with the other parent (inapplicable when a 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 in delaying or increasing the costs of litigation to obtain custody or parenting time
- The existence of domestic violence or child abuse
- Whether a parent used coercion or duress to obtain an agreement regarding legal decision-making or parenting time
- Whether a parent has complied with family support duties
- Whether a parent was convicted of falsely reporting child abuse or neglect
Parenting Plans
A.R.S. § 25-403.02 requires courts to adopt a parenting plan that provides for joint decision-making authority and maximizes the time each parent spends with their children. However, this plan must still be consistent with the child’s best interests.
Furthermore, even if a parent has neither joint nor sole decision-making authority over the children, he or she is generally entitled to reasonable parenting time with the children. The only exception is if the court finds that parenting time would endanger the children’s physical, mental, moral, or emotional health.
If parents are unable to reach an agreed-upon parenting plan, each parent must submit a parenting plan to the court that reflects the following:
- A designation of the legal decision-making as joint or sole
- A description of each parent’s rights and responsibilities for the personal care of the child and for decisions in areas such as education, health care, and religious training
- A practical schedule of parenting time for the child, including holidays and school vacations
- A procedure for the exchange of the child, including location and responsibility for transportation
- A procedure by which proposed changes, relocation of where a child resides with either parent, disputes, and alleged breaches may be mediated or resolved, which may include the use of conciliation services or private counseling
- A procedure for periodic review of the plan’s terms by the parents
- A procedure for parents to communicate with each other about the child, including methods and frequency
- A statement that each party has read, understands, and will abide by the notification requirements for relocation under Arizona law.
A court will decide any elements of the parenting plan on which the parents cannot agree. However, a court also can implement other measures that ”are necessary to promote and protect the emotional and physical health of the child.”