Legal Question in Family Law in Arizona
I have sole custody of my 3 kids and their mother has visitation every other weekend on saturday-sunday at 4. She also had wednesday visits but has not been showing up. She has moved to South Dekota. There has not been court ordered child support and she hides when we try to find her. She will randomly show up and I have let her take the kids for a visit. It is causing a lot of stress on the kids. I would like to know if because she does not pay child support, call or honor her visitation if there is any way we can terminate her legal rights as a parent.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Her parental rights cannot be terminated unless she has legally abandoned the children and the court finds that it is in their best interests to sever that relationship. If she has had any contact at all with them in the past 6 months, there can generally not be a finding of abandonment, even if she hasn't seen them as often as she's permitted to. I recommend you speak with an attorney regarding the specific details of your situation to learn more about your options; however, if you already have sole custody and the children are in your primary care, that may be as far as you can go for now.
You may be able to seek termination based upon "abandonment".
We can certainly help you consider and then pursue your options.
One of our attorneys can explain the issues and procedures better in person. As you can imagine, there is too much to cover via email. We offer free 1/2 hour consultations, in which we can discuss your matter in detail.
Please call us directly to discuss the specifics of your matter, or contact my assistant Gloria or my paralegal Jennifer to schedule your free 1/2 hour consultation
/s/ Rich J. Peters
RJ PETERS & ASSOC., P.C.
1422 North 2nd Street, Suite 100
Phoenix, Arizona 85004
602-254-7251
facsimile 602-254-1229
see our website at www.familylawaz.com
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