questions & answers

Question: The father of my daughter wants to start getting visitation or joint custody of her. He has been out of her life more than 16mths. He sees her for 1 mth or 2 and then disappear again. What can I do to stop him from getting visitation or supervision visitation?

Answer: Your question is difficult to answer without more information.  Do you have a court order in place that gives you sole custody?  Is there a current order for visitation?  Custody is now called legal decision-making by the courts and visitation is referred to as parenting time.   Is dad's name on the birth certificate?  It would be a good idea to sit down with a lawyer and sort through all these questions.  Bring copies of any paperwork you have to the meeting.  There are three programs in Arizona that you can use to get inexpensive legal advice and guidance.  One is the modest means program.  You wil need to apply for the program and meet the financial qualifications.  Once you are qualified, Modest Means will send you a list of attorneys whose practice covers your area of concern.  You select a lawyer from the list and will be entitled to a one hour consultation for $75.  If you need additional help and if the lawyer agrees to take your case, the most you will be charged is  $75 per  hour.  The telephone number is (866) 637-5341.  Both Maricopa and Pima Counties have lawyer referral programs that offer a 30 minute consult with an attorney.  Maricopa County's Lawyer Referral Service offers its 30 minute consult with an experienced attorney for $40.  The telephone number is (602) 257-4434.  Pima County's Lawyer Referral Service offers a 30 minute attorney consult for $35.  The telephone number is (520) 623-4625.