Q: Is it legal for a mother to keep children from the father for no reason?
No custody order or protections order
A:
Your question gets into some legal complexities, but the short answer is that it is not illegal. I'm going to presume they are not married. If they are married, this question has a different answer.
Under Arizona's custodial interference statute, when a child is born out of wedlock, and custody has not been established, Mothers have full custody. In other words, prior to a custody order being issued, a father could be arrested for withholding; a mother cannot be arrested for withholding the child.
The father should consider going to Court to establish his rights to legal decision-making and parenting time (traditionally, legal custody and physical custody) as soon as possible. Once he does, he has the same rights the Mother does, and the Court must determine custody based on what is in the best interests of the child.
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