My child refuses to visit their father even though we have a court order that says she has too. She hasn't visited him in months and now he is saying he will get her held on contempt for not visiting. I have tried to get to go but she refuses and now says she will runaway and self harm if she... View More
answered on Feb 2, 2024
A 12-year-old cannot be held in contempt.
The 12-year-old is the subject of the Court order, but the Court has not ordered her to do anything. A Parenting Plan orders the parents as to what they are to do regarding to the child. Therefore, the 12-year-old has not violated the Court order... View More
My son stays with his dad about half the time. The thing is, he lives in a 2 bedroom apartment with a roommate and his girlfriend. My son has to sleep on a pull out couch in the same room as his dad and his dad’s girlfriend. My son is 11. We have had multiple conversations over the last couple of... View More
answered on Jan 22, 2024
The arrangement is not illegal.
There is a question of whether it is in your son's best interests. You could file a Petition to Modify, and then it's really up a judge. I think there's a good argument there, but it will really depend on how your judge feels about it. Some... View More
I want to ask for sole custody at a later date but would it backfire if I said I dont want child support or would it help my case? I also have another child from a different relationship. I have the children 10 months out of the year and he has them throughout the year but it equates to 2 mos. I... View More
answered on Jan 22, 2024
Asking or not asking for child support will have no impact on your custody case. The Court does not consider child support when determining custody, but once it determines custody, the amount of time awarded impacts the child support amount.
You should run numbers through an Arizona Child... View More
Can I take the child legally
answered on Jan 17, 2024
She can. You can't.
Based on what you wrote, it doesn't sound like you are even a legal parent yet. A biological connection to the child, by itself, does not establish you as the child's legal parent in the eyes of the law. You have to either (1) sign an Acknowledgment of... View More
ORDER OF DISMISSAL
The Court previously notified the parties that this case would be dismissed on November 12, 2023 without further notice unless specific action was taken prior to said date. No such action having occurred,
IT IS ORDERED dismissing this matter in its entirety... View More
answered on Nov 30, 2023
Temporary orders are, as the name suggests, "temporary," i.e., they are only in effect until the Court issues a final ruling. A dismissal is a final ruling.
There is a way to preserve temporary orders even when a case is dismissed, but one of the parties would have to have... View More
Going through a divorce and in a custody battle with my husband. He is a functioning alcoholic and weedhead. In our Temporary Custody Hearing last Wednesday, the father was cross examined by his attorney and she asked if he smoked or drank and he said no. When court ended, I found a post on her... View More
answered on Oct 23, 2023
- MOTION TO REVIEW NEW EVIDENCE: The answer is probably no, but you can give it a try by filing a Motion for Reconsideration. You'll need to explain (1) why you don't produce this evidence at trial because the Court can't consider newly discovered evidence that could have been found... View More
We have been married for 10+ years. I experienced a significant amount of domestic abuse in the marriage and left the home 18 months ago. I left our 10 year old with his father as my husband ruined my credit and finances. My husband now makes twice as much as I do. He makes so much now that he has... View More
answered on Oct 23, 2023
You can file a motion for temporary spousal maintenance and ask to receive spousal maintenance while the case is pending. You can also for temporary custody (or, more specifically, temporary legal decision-making and parenting time) and an interim award of attorney's fees.
Domestic... View More
answered on Oct 10, 2023
It's unusual, but it's possible. Animal cruelty is one of the listed crimes under the domestic violence statute. It may depend on whether his actions meet the standards of animal cruelty (see ARS 13-2910) and whether those actions are significant enough to impact what should happen with... View More
I filed my papers about a month ago, and I found out through word of mouth that the other party files her response. However I have not received anything from them, their attorney, or the court. Will the case move forward even if I haven't received anything? Is there any action I can take if... View More
answered on Oct 10, 2023
Yes, your case is moving forward even without them giving you a copy. You should reach out to the other party's attorney, inform them you didn't receive a copy, and make sure they have the right email address and mailing address for you. You also should double check the Court records to... View More
We had a hearing and despite my evidence that we are victims and father has a significant history of domestic violence and abuse, plus procedural errors like allowing another person to advise father (off camera) and speak during the hearing while on zoom, not allowing me time to present my case,... View More
answered on Oct 9, 2023
Sounds like your best option is probably to going to be filing a Motion for Reconsideration.
The standard for dismissing a judge for bias is so high that you are very unlikely succeed. I do not recommend going that route.
If you have evidence Father lied, present it and let it speak... View More
This case in which the original case was filed by the state of California
against the Respondent for child supoort.
The respondent wants to use the case as a custody case against the petioner.
I want to dismiss that case on the grounds that the original case was not for... View More
answered on Oct 9, 2023
Did California issue a child support order? If so, it must be registered here for the custody case, in which support must be determined. An Arizona court cannot modify the California support order unless it's properly registered and in front of the Arizona court. For that reason, I don't... View More
We live in AZ. He lies a lot. We have a mortgage together. What can I do legally to find out and if it is, get him out of home and away from kids?
answered on Oct 2, 2023
You probably need to get it tested. Then once you find out it is meth, you need to ask him to submit to a drug test. If it's positive, you could use that as a reason to get temporary emergency custody (i.e., legal decision-making and parenting time) over the children.
If you're... View More
I had residential custody and he had ldm and suddenly without consideration of his consider it d v past a judge grabted him custody of our minor even if he's probation for abuse of her and violating an oop, and with medical reports stating she is autistic and terrified of him and needed... View More
answered on Oct 2, 2023
You need to stop and consult with an attorney. I certainly understand why you did what you did, but I worry you could be making a bad situation worse.
The Order of Protection has not been served, so it is not in effect. That means you are technically violating the order when you do not... View More
I'm in Pima County, Arizona. 30 days ago I served annulment papers on my "husband," who lives out of state. Since then, he has signed Consent Decree for Divorce papers and sent them to me. Today is the no-response deadline and I can ask the court to move forward with dissolution.... View More
answered on Sep 27, 2023
If your question is "which one is quicker and less painful to me, the answer is clear from a purely legal standpoint: Sign and submit the Consent Decree.
Annulments are very difficult to win. If you're claiming fraud, you have a high burden of proof, i.e., you have to present... View More
I filled out A Established paternity with legal decision-making legal custody parenting time and child support Against my Girlfriend And now DCS is trying to file an order of EX Party children To remove children from my custody in control And physically is that possible
answered on Sep 27, 2023
Yes, DCS can do that. In fact, if DCS starts a proceeding to remove the children, the custody case in the family court is paused while the DCS proceeding goes through the juvenile court because, by law, DCS proceedings take precedence over custody proceedings.
My wife shares custody with the child’s father. Father has continuously taken the child’s phone away while she is at his house during his parental time. Mother and I have bought the phone and pay the cell phone bill on a monthly basis. Father has never paid any portion or is even on same phone... View More
answered on Sep 27, 2023
I am certainly sympathetic to what Mother and you are enduring because of Father's inappropriate actions.
However, what you suggest here is not the solution.
I know this may hurt to hear, and I apologize for that, but the law is clear: As a stepparent, you have no legal... View More
We were married in secret in Mexico because his family has always been abusive. As far as they knew we were living together and engaged happily. We both made our wills after some difficult times we had with our health and his will is signed by myself and my mom and witnesses. My husband struggled... View More
answered on Aug 16, 2023
I'm sorry for your loss and all that you're going through with your spouse's mother.
You filed this under Family Law (which is divorce and child custody), Civil Litigation (lawsuits), and Wrongful Death (when you sue someone for killing a family member). What you need to do... View More
Does Rule 28 prohibit filing a REPLY to a RESPONSE?
answered on Aug 10, 2023
Don't file a Reply.
Rule 28 doesn't explicitly prohibit a Reply, but it implicitly does by explicitly authorizing a Response and making no mention of Reply.
Further, there is an important difference between a Petition and a Motion, and how they get resolved is why a Reply... View More
There is currently no custody order. So last year, I printed out a form that we agreed on that states I have temporary custody and she signed and we got notarized. Our son went to go visit for her for summer in CA but now she won’t let us talk to him and is alienating him from me and his other... View More
answered on Jul 20, 2023
The short answer is it is 100% time for you to file for custody and you may need to consider filing an emergency motion. You need to file in the state where your son most recently lived for six consecutive months.
As you write, "There is no custody order." Signing an agreement... View More
For some ODD reason, during a hearing in family court, the judge believed father and though i retain custodial/residential custody of our 9yr old daughter— my joint legal decision making rights were handed over to father (full legal decision-making) and reason was Judge believed i weaponized OOP... View More
answered on Jul 19, 2023
I certainly understand how difficult it can be when a judge makes a ruling that is not at all in your child's best interests. I certainly do not believe that you should have lose legal decision-making.
Unfortunately, there is not much you can do right now.
If the order came... View More
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