What Can I Do In Arizona If Someone Is Violating The Terms Of A Parenting Agreement?

In Arizona, if a party to a valid parenting agreement ordered by the court or through a Rule 69 Agreement is, has, or continues to violate the terms of a parenting plan agreement, then the non breaching party may be entitled to intervention from the court.

In particular, A.R.S. § 25-414 provides:

If the court, based on a verified petition and after it gives reasonable notice to an alleged violating parent and an opportunity for that person to be heard, finds that a parent has refused without good cause to comply with a visitation or parenting time order, the court shall do at least one of the following:

1. Find the violating parent in contempt of court.
2. Order visitation or parenting time to make up for the missed sessions.
3. Order parent education at the violating parent’s expense.
4. Order family counseling at the violating parent’s expense.
5. Order civil penalties of not to exceed one hundred dollars for each violation. The court shall transmit monies collected pursuant to this paragraph each month to the county treasurer. The county treasurer shall transmit these monies monthly to the state treasurer for deposit into the alternative dispute resolution fund established by section 12-135.
6. Order both parents to participate in mediation or some other appropriate form of alternative dispute resolution at the violating parent’s expense.
7. Make any other order that may promote the best interests of the child or children involved.

Within twenty-five days of service of the petition the court shall hold a hearing or conference before a judge, commissioner or person appointed by the court to review noncompliance with a visitation or parenting time order.

In addition to any hearing that may be held by the Court, court costs and attorney fees incurred by the nonviolating parent associated with the review of noncompliance with a visitation or parenting time order shall be paid by the violating parent. In the event the custodial parent prevails, the court in its discretion may award court costs and attorney fees to the custodial parent.

It is strongly suggested that you meet with an experienced Arizona Family Law Attorney prior to filing your Petition with the Court pursuant to 25-414 so that the attorney can better determine whether you have enough documentary or testimonial evidence to demonstrate that the other party is in fact in breach of the parenting agreement. I say this because if such claim is brought and you ultimately cannot demonstrate with reasonable sufficiency to the Court that the other party is in fact in breach, then you may be ordered to reimburse to the other party their reasonably attorney fees and costs pursuant to A.R.S. §§ 25-324 and 25-414.

The experienced Arizona family law attorneys at the Law Firm of Ariano & Reppucci, PLLC can guide you through this or any other family law process. Ariano & Reppucci, PLLC is a discount boutique law firm that provides free consultations and many payment options to both potential and current clients. For more information please contact attorney Ryan M. Reppucci at 602-515-0841.

In Arizona Custody Cases, Can The Court Interview My Children?

The short answer is yes depending upon the age and development of the child requested to be interviewed. Rule 12, Arizona Rules of Family Law Procedure, (“ARFLP”), states:

[o]n motion of any party, or its own motion, the court may, in its discretion, conduct an in camera interview with a minor child who is the subject of a custody or parenting time dispute, to ascertain the child’s wishes as to the child’s custodian and as to parenting time. The interview may be conducted at any stage of the proceeding and shall be recorded by a court reporter or any electronic medium that is retrievable in perceivable form. The record of the interview may be sealed, in whole or in part, based upon good cause and after considering the best interests of the child. The parties may stipulate that the record of the interview shall not be provided to the parties or that the interview may be conducted off the record.

In addition to the ARFLP provision set forth above:

Arizona Revised Statutes § 25-405 allows for an in camera interview of a child to ascertain the child’s wishes as to the child’s custodian and as to parenting time. A record of the proceeding will be kept to ensure the integrity of the process, to allow for rebuttal information in appropriate cases, and to provide for appropriate appellate review. The definition of “record” is derived from A.R.S. § 25-1010(E).

It must be noted that an interview of child can go a long way in determining the child’s wishes, but that is just one factor the court will consider of many when making a determination regarding child custody. For a complete list of factors the court will consider in rendering a child custody decision review A.R.S. § 25-403.

It is sometimes a risky proposition in a custody battle to insist that a child be interviewed. For this reason it is strongly suggested that you meet with an experienced Arizona family attorney who can better provide you pros and cons prior to motioning the court. The law firm of Ariano & Reppucci, PLLC is a discount Phoenix based family law firm that can assist you in this process. Please contact at 602-515-0841 to schedule your free consultation today. Remember, we are open on the weekends and take phone calls 24 hours a day.

Physical, Mental and Vocational Evaluations of Persons In Arizona Family Court Cases

Rule 63, Arizona Rules of Family Law Procedure, (“ARFLP”) provides authorization, in certain situations, for the court to order that a party to a Family Court action submit to a physical, mental or vocational evaluation.

Rule 63, expresses that, with regard to Arizona Family Law Cases, when the mental, physical, or vocational condition of a party or any other person is in controversy, the court may order that person to submit to a physical, mental, or vocational evaluation by a designated expert or to produce for evaluation the person in the party’s custody or legal control.

The order may be made only on motion for good cause shown and upon notice to the person to be evaluated (unless the person to be evaluated is a minor child of one or both of the parties), and to all parties and shall specify the time, place, manner, conditions, and scope of the evaluation and the person or persons by whom it is to be made. The person to be evaluated shall have the right to have a representative present during the evaluation, unless the presence of that representative may adversely affect the outcome of the evaluation.

Rule 63 can be an invaluable mechanism in custody cases where the physical or mental health of one or more of the parties is in question. Meaning that in some way, the requesting party believes that another’s ability to “parent” because of mental or physical defects is paramount to the court’s custody determination. This Rule should not be employed in all cases, nor used to simply harass a party. There are very limited and specific reasons why requests should be made under Rule 63. For more information on whether your case warrants relief under Rule 63, it is strongly suggested that you meet with an experienced Arizona Family Lawyer prior to filing such request.

Finally, Rule 63 provides very specific requirements both procedurally and timing that must be met in using or suggesting evaluators to conduct such examinations. For this reason it is again urged that prior to making this request with the Court, that one meet with an experienced Arizona Family Law Attorney.

Having used Rule 63 many times and in many cases, Ariano & Reppucci, PLLC can assist during your free consultation in determining whether your desired Rule 63 request is reasonable. Ariano & Reppucci, PLLC, Arizona’s 24 Hour Family Law Firm can be contacted at 602-515-0841 or by visiting www.familyattorneys-arizona.com  

Applying for Temporary Orders In My Arizona Family Law Case

In Arizona, parties to many family law actions can file for temporary orders with the court. Because court calendar’s are often over loaded, it can take several months for a final trial to take place. Therefore, temporary orders requests will allow the parties to an action some stability in the interim by having the court set temporary orders which will have the same force and affect as a final order of the court until later modified, if at all.

A.R.S. §§ 25-404 and 25-411 governs temporary orders requests in Arizona. In particular, 25-404 states:

A party to a custody proceeding may move for a temporary custody order. This motion must be supported by pleadings as provided in section 25-411. The court may award temporary custody under the standards of section 25-403 after a hearing, or, if there is no objection, solely on the basis of the pleadings.

B. If a proceeding for dissolution of marriage or legal separation is dismissed, any temporary custody order is vacated unless a parent or the child’s custodian moves that the proceeding continue as a custody proceeding and the court finds, after a hearing, that the circumstances of the parents and the best interest of the child require that a custody decree be issued.

C. If a custody proceeding commenced in the absence of a petition for dissolution of marriage or legal separation is dismissed, any temporary custody order thereby is vacated.

The above statute sets out the very basics for when temporary orders may be requested. However, 25-411 sets forth in detail how a requesting party should request temporary orders with the court and what items must be included in such request.

Temporary orders can be a tricky and often times stressful subject for pro per (unrepresented) parties to grasp. Therefore, it is recommended that before filing for temporary orders with the court, you first meet with an experienced Arizona discount Family Law Attorney at Ariano & Reppucci, PLLC.

For more information on this or any other Arizona family law matter, please contact, the author at 602-515-0841 or visit other author blog posts at www.familyattorneys-arizona.com.

Arizona Family Court’s; Custody Hearings Receive Priority

A.R.S. 25-407 states in relevant text:

          A.      Custody proceedings shall receive priority in being set for hearing.

          B.      The court may tax as costs the payment of necessary travel and other      expenses incurred by any person whose presence at the hearing the court      deems necessary to determine the best interest of the child.

          C.      The court, without a jury, shall determine questions of law and fact. If     it finds that a public hearing may be detrimental to the child’s best interest,          the court may exclude the public from a custody hearing, but may admit any        person who has a direct and legitimate interest in the particular case or a           legitimate educational or research interest in the work of the court.

          D.         the court finds that to protect the child’s welfare, the record of any           interview, report, investigation, or testimony in a custody proceeding should    be kept secret, the court may then make an appropriate order sealing the    record.

Often times client’s are concerned that the highly sensitive aspects of their case will become or are at the public’s disposal for review. The fact is, that without just cause, our legal system permits open forum’s for viewing and review of pleadings, whether nor not the matter involves custody of a child. However, if you are representing yourself and belief that public access to some or all of the court record will adversely effect your child’s best interests, then you can use the above statute as a basis in your request to the Court that your matter be sealed.

Early Resolution Conferences (ERC) v. Resolution Management Conference (RMC) in Arizona

An Early Resolution Conference (ERC) is generally scheduled when both parties are unrepresented. The ERC is conducted by a conference officer, and during the time set (usually up to 2 hours), the parties and the conference officer discuss which issues have been agreed and which are still in dispute. If all issues are agreed, the conference officer may be able to write up the agreement and take it to a judge to sign and finalize the divorce. If there are still disputed issues, the conference officer will provide a date that the parties return to court to see the judge for a trial.

A Resolution Management Conference (RMC) is generally scheduled when one or both parties are represented by counsel. The RMC is conducted by the judge assigned to the case, and usually lasts 15-30 minutes. This is not a time to present evidence and testimony; rather, it is a time to let the judge know whether or not there are agreements, and to decide what type of services might be appropriate to move the case forward (e.g. mediation, settlement conference, etc.). The judge will generally set a trial date as well as the deadlines for pretrial activities.

Spousal Maintenance In Arizona: Rehabilitative or Something More?

For some time now, there has been a debate in Arizona regarding the purpose of spousal maintenance. The positions are; 1) indefinite vs. 2) rehabilitative maintenance. There are several Arizona cases which speak directly to this issue, in my opinion, some are more useful than others. See Lindsay v. Lindsay, 115 Ariz. 322, 565 P.2d 199 (1979); Schroeder v. Schroeder, 161 Ariz. 316, 778 P.2d 1212 (1989).

The above referenced cases are useful in fleshing out reasoning for why courts in recent times have and continue to appear to lean in the direction of fixing duration of spousal maintenance orders in order to require a receiving spouse to attain some level of financial independence.

In fact, later cases have defined rehabilitative maintenance as that “which is awarded for a short duration with specific purpose of enabling job training or other means of entering or advancing in the work force. See Steinle v. Van Dyke, 183 Ariz. 268, 902 P.2d 1372 (1995).

It must be noted that although the trend may be for rehabilitative maintenance orders, the fact is that A.R.S. 25-319 takes into consideration several factors, which if demonstrated, may be used by a party seeking maintenance to attack the rehabilitative theory. One such factor being because of the age of the receiving spouse, he/she cannot ever seek financial independence, and therefore could never be “rehabilitated.”

It clear that not all spousal maintenance orders serve identical values and each case is unique by its own set of facts and circumstance. Therefore, if you are seeking establishment, modification, or termination of spousal maintenance I would strongly suggest that you meet with an experienced Arizona family law attorney who can help you navigate this jungle.

New Family Law Provision That Must Be Added To Joint Custody Parenting Plans In Arizona

Recent statutory changes now mandate that every joint custody parenting plan include specific notification required by A.R.S. § 25-403.05. In full test, this statutory requirement states:

A. Unless the court finds that there is no significant risk to the child and states its reasons in writing, the court shall not grant a person sole or joint physical or legal custody of a child or unsupervised parenting time with a child if the person:

1. Is a registered sex offender.

2. Has been convicted of murder in the first degree and the victim of the murder was the other parent of the child who is the subject of the order. In making its finding, the court may consider, among other factors, the following:

(a) Credible evidence that the convicted parent was a victim of domestic violence, as defined in section 13-3601, committed by the murdered parent.

(b) Testimony of an expert witness that the convicted parent suffered trauma from abuse committed by the murdered parent.

B. A child’s parent or custodian must immediately notify the other parent or custodian if the parent or custodian knows that a convicted or registered sex offender or a person who has been convicted of a dangerous crime against children as defined in section 13-705 may have access to the child. The parent or custodian must provide notice by first class mail, return receipt requested, by electronic means to an electronic mail address that the recipient provided to the parent or custodian for notification purposes or by other communication accepted by the court.

The important provision that should be included now in all joint custody parenting plans is the notification requirement listed in section “B” above.

For more information on other recent family law updates and/or any other Arizona family law matter, please contact Ryan M. Reppucci or Arizona & Reppucci, PLLC at 602-515-0841

Child Support Basics In Arizona

Under Arizona law, Arizona’s Child Support Guidelines define the factors and method for the calculation of child support.  The Guidelines consideration the gross income of each of the parents and does not include the income of a new spouse.  Generally, the Guidelines determine income based upon a 40-hour workweek, not overtime.  Other factors in determining child support are day care expenses, health insurance, whether children are older than 12, the visitation that each parent has with the child, and any special needs that a child may have that require out of pocket expenses from either parent.

Unlike child custody, visitation, or any other issues surrounding a divorce or separation, child support is determined by a simple formula.  But that is not to say that the system is perfect and you could find yourself in a situation in which you are paying too much or receiving too little.   That is why at Ariano & Reppucci, PLLC we take special care with each client analyzing all of the factors to make sure our clients pay/receive the amount of support they are entitled.   

If you need to establish child support, or want to enforce a support obligation, our office can help you through the legal procedures to enforce your award, collect past due child support and ensure that future child support is collected promptly.  Please call us today.

GRANDPARENT RIGHTS IN ARIZONA

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