I have occasionally seen lawyers advertising themselves as “fathers’ rights” lawyers. With the exception of one disciplinary case against a lawyer who promoted himself as part of the “Fathers’ Rights Movement”, I have not found any Arizona reference in statute or case law to “fathers’ rights.” It is simply not a term used in Arizona child custody law.
Arizona’s child custody statutes have long provided that “
There IS, however, some preference or at least consideration given to the parent who has been the primary caregiver of the children. See A.R.S. Sec. 25-403 A. 7. If mothers have historically been awarded more parenting time with children than fathers have been awarded, this may be because mothers have historically been the primary caregivers of children in traditional families, while fathers have been the primary breadwinners.
Times change. Most mothers now work outside the home. Young fathers are increasingly more involved in caring for their children. There is a trend toward putting fathers and mothers on equal ground when it comes to child custody cases. In Arizona, for example, despite an existing statute prohibiting judges from favoring either parent in a child custody case because of that parent’s sex (A.R.S. Sec. 25-403.01 A.), the 2010 legislature passed yet another statute aimed at equalizing mothers and fathers in child custody cases.
A.R.S. Sec. 25-103 B. provides that it “is the declared public policy of this state . . . that, absent evidence to the contrary, it is in a child’s best interest:
1. To have substantial, frequent, meaningful and continuing parenting time with both parents.
[and]2. To have both parents participate in decision-making about the child.”
Section 25-103 C. directs courts to “apply the provisions of this title (i.e. to make child custody decisions) in a manner that is consistent with this section.” Parenthetical added.
It is my belief that we will increasingly see Arizona family court judges beginning their child custody/parenting time analyses with a presumption of joint legal custody and equal parenting time. The burden will increasingly be placed on the parent seeking to avoid joint legal custody and/or equal time to show evidence that such an arrangement is not in the children’s best interests.
Copyright © 2011 by Scoresby Family Law – J. Kyle Scoresby, P.C. All rights reserved.