Legal Question in Family Law in Arizona

At this point, either parent has equal rights to take physical custody or possession of the children, because no court order is in effect awarding custody to either party. The big deal in be awarded custody is status quo, which is that whoever has the children with them is usually awarded custody, and the longer they have them with them since separation, the more likelihood they will be awarded custody. With that said, in your situation, if your wife won't voluntarily give you custody (for example she may call the police if you try to obtain custody without court involvement), the next step may be to file for divorce and in the divorce case immediately file a Petition for Emergency Custody if you believe that there is an imminent safety issue for the children, given the meth and child endangerment issues. Often, in the beginning of custody cases when no court orders on custody yet exist, the first person to request court orders has an advantage in getting custody awarded to them.

I hope this information is helpful to you. If you need additional help, you can call me at (928) 526-3268 for a consultation. It's $150 for up to an hour of time. If you choose to hire me for work beyond the consultation, I will discount my hourly rate by 25% if you mention the law guru website during the consultation.

I would suggest the you file an immediate petition for divorce. Once the petition is filed, because of the potential harm to the children by remaining in custody of the mother, you can file a motion for temporary orders without notice. If the Judge finds there to be irreparable harm to the child, then he can order on your request in the temporary orders without need for the other side to appear. If denied, however, move for an expedited hearing on the date scheduled by the judge. If the judge sets the matter for a hearing (whether expedited or not), the other side will have an opportunity to present evidence in support of why they should retain the current status quo as to custody pending the outcome of the divorce petition.

If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me and set up a free initial consultation to discuss this matter further.