questions & answers

Question: We have Jount Custody, with I being Primary. His parenting time is every other weekend. He is moving 175 miles away soon, do I have to meet him halfway without going to court first? I do not have reliable transportation due to him being $10,0000 behind in Child support. Would I be in contempt or would he need to get a court date to first change the parenting time to include meeting half way? Currently he is to pick them up at school and drop them back off at school, as we do not get along. Does that remain in effect till legally changed?

Answer: - Generally, parents may agree between themselves about custody or parenting time; however, if the parents cannot agree and if the Arizona legal system becomes involved (for example, when a parent asks the court for a divorce), only the Superior Court may decide these issues. Also, the classification of custody as “joint custody” is different from “joint legal custody.” See this article here for the different definitions. Also, if both parents live in Arizona, the parent with physical custody desiring to move with the child must give 60 days' notice to the other parent before the child may be moved more than 100 miles from the other parent or from the state. The 60-day period gives sufficient time to the non-moving parent to request a hearing to stop the move, see the same article as before mentioned and ARS 25-408 for more in-depth information. Depending on the custody situation and if the court is involved, it will mostly likely be up to the court to make certain decisions about custody and parenting time of the child, (see same article as before mentioned).  

Question: We have Jount Custody, with I being Primary. His parenting time is every other weekend. He is moving 175 miles away soon, do I have to meet him halfway without going to court first? I do not have reliable transportation due to him being $10,0000 behind in Child support. Would I be in contempt or would he need to get a court date to first change the parenting time to include meeting half way? Currently he is to pick them up at school and drop them back off at school, as we do not get along. Does that remain in effect till legally changed?

Answer: - Generally, parents may agree between themselves about custody or parenting time; however, if the parents cannot agree and if the Arizona legal system becomes involved (for example, when a parent asks the court for a divorce), only the Superior Court may decide these issues. Also, the classification of custody as “joint custody” is different from “joint legal custody.” See this article here for the different definitions. Also, if both parents live in Arizona, the parent with physical custody desiring to move with the child must give 60 days' notice to the other parent before the child may be moved more than 100 miles from the other parent or from the state. The 60-day period gives sufficient time to the non-moving parent to request a hearing to stop the move, see the same article as before mentioned and ARS 25-408 for more in-depth information. Depending on the custody situation and if the court is involved, it will mostly likely be up to the court to make certain decisions about custody and parenting time of the child, (see same article as before mentioned).