Arizona Child Custody - Legal Decision Making

As with our earlier article, Arizona Child Custody - Parenting Time, Legal Decision Making was voted into law in January of 2013 in an effort to further clarify Child Custody and separate issues of Parenting and Legal Decision Making.  While Arizona will make every effort to insure that a child will receive equal and meaningful time with both parents, it does take a hard look at who will be making the major life decisions for a child that revolve around education, religion, medical and other style of life decisions.  Legal Decision Making orders are based on Arizona Revised Statute 25-403 and always focus on what is in the best interests of the child.  Working with a skilled an experienced Arizona Divorce Attorney who has a focus in Child Custody, or an Arizona Child Custody Attorney, is your best possible chance to protect your rights and insure the best possible outcome for your child.

Types of Legal Decision Making

The first type of Legal Decision Making is where one parent has sole Legal Decision Making rights regardless of what Parenting Time ruling has been made by the court.  This is not a common ruling and the court does not make this ruling lightly.  A parent with a demonstrated history if being incapable of making good decisions for themselves or presents a clear danger to the child emotionally, physically, mentally or morally will always have to defer to the major decisions made by the other parent in this case.

The second, more common, ruling that the court will hand down is that both parents will have equal say in the major decisions that are made for a child.  Parents that are incapable of working together can be ordered by the court to receive ongoing counseling to help them work together in the best interests of the child.  The third type ruling is where both parents are ordered to have joint Legal Decision Making rights but where one parent will have the final say.  The court can also be very specific about the areas where one parent will have final say.

Determination of Legal Decision Making

The court will consider many factors when deciding on Legal Decision Making for a child that could include:

• The Child's age
• Any preference the child may have in Legal Decision Making
• Any preference the parents may have in Legal Decision Making
• The Mental and Physical health of  both the parents and the child.
• The time each parent can spare from work
• Any criminal records of the parents
• Any history of domestic violence
• The education progress of the child in school
• Any history of drug or alcohol abuse by the parents