Parental Rights & Obligations

questions & answers

Question: I have three childre with my ex. We are stil legally married. What right do I have when it comes to custody issues?

Answer: The following is provided for general information only. To find out how the law applies to a specific situation, contact an attorney directly.There is an article on this website entitled “Things You Should Know About Custody and Parenting Time,” and it may be helpful in answering some of the questions you have. Custody is determined as part of a divorce, legal separation or paternity/maternity action. If there is no custody arrangement (perhaps owing to the parents still being married), each parent is presumed to have equal legal and physical custody rights. One of the above actions may be filed in order to obtain a custody order, but until that time the parents will operate with equal legal access to the children. According to A.R.S. 25-403, Arizona courts will make determinations of child custody, or “legal decision-making and parenting time,” in accordance with the best interests of the child after considering a variety of factors which can be seen by reading the statute itself.