Legal Question in Family Law in Arizona

Re: modification of custody agreement

You may very well be able to get the order modified. First you should review your custody order closely. It may contain a requirement that the custodial parent give notice before moving out of state with a child. Arizona Revised Statute 25-408 sets out the statutory requirements for notice and how a party would challenge a request to move. You can go to www.azleg.state.az.us to see the full statute. If you were given notice that she would be moving, but didn�t file an objection with the court, it will be harder to challenge the move.

You mentioned JOINT CUSTODY, but is it joint LEGAL or joint PHYSICAL custody? The custody order should tell you which one, so you may want to review it. Joint LEGAL means that both parents are to agree on major life decisions for the child like what religion? what schools? can the child get a tattoo? Joint PHYSICAL means that the child spends roughly equal time with each parent. I am assuming that you have joint LEGAL, so that a move out-of-state, should still have both parents discussing and agreeing on major life decisions. You can ask a court to enforce your rights as a parent under a joint LEGAL order, but that may not get your child back to Arizona. There is an additional issue, if the child has been gone for 6 months or more to California, you may have to litigate custody in California which would be considered the home state of the child. If it�s less than 6 months, you may have to rush to the court.

I am an attorney in southeastern Arizona, practicing primarily in Cochise County. You may want to consult or hire a local attorney to represent your interests. Practical tip: start documenting everything, put all your information on a calendar, whether it�s a phone call with your child or a missed appointment, keep copies of all correspondence & print off e-mails, keep phone records showing contact or lack of contact. GOOD LUCK,

Re: modification of custody agreement

QUESTION:

A custody order for joint custody was issued in az, but now the custodial parent lives in ca and the noncustodial lives in or. The custodial parent moved w/o the consent or agreement of the noncustodial parent and has placed the child in several living environments. what are my chances for getting the order modified?

ANSWER:

Chances may be good, or maybe not so good. It all depends on what you want the modified order to say.

LDG