Legal Question in Family Law in Arizona

Re: minor visitation

You need to be careful with this one. There is no law in Arizona setting a specific age for a child to make a choice about visitation. Further, a court could order visits, even if a child testified they didn�t want to visit. As you probably learned in the parenting classes that are now mandatory for a divorce with children, it is the job of each parent to encourage a positive relationship with the other parent, no bad mouthing the other, and no using the child as a messenger. If a child�s health or personal safety is at risk, then the other parent should act immediately. BUT�if the child isn�t getting along or doesn�t like the rules at the parent they visit, it should be BOTH PARENTS'responsibility to encourage and allow visits to continue. No visits normally result in erosion of the parent-child relationship, which eventually hurts the child�s relationship with both parents. Think long and hard about taking any action, even it would be easier for you not to have contact with the other parent. Good Luck.