The Sander Law Firm

Child Custody

How Does Child Custody Work?

In Arizona, the court does not use the term “custody”. The issue previously termed custody is now broken into two categories: 1) Legal Decision-Making, and 2) Parenting Time. Legal Decision-Making refers to the authority to make major decisions on behalf of your child (i.e. medical, educational, religious, etc.). Parenting Time refers to the time you spend with your child.

The court will consider a number of factors when determining a custody arrangement. These factors include the relationship between the children and the parents, and the wishes of the children if they are of suitable age and maturity, any history of domestic violence, whether a parent has engaged in coercion, whether a parent has misled the court, any substance abuse issues, and other factors. The court will also look at their maturity and their understanding of the importance of telling the truth.

Arizona courts generally prefer to award the parents joint legal decision-making and equal parenting time when possible. The court generally considers that arrangement to be in the best interests of the children in normal situations. Some situations require the court to order more parenting time to one parent or authorize one parent to make all decisions for the child (sole legal decision-making). The court may order more parenting time for one parent due to a minor issue, such as the other parent’s work schedule not accommodating equal parenting time. The court may go to the extent of requiring a parent’s parenting time to be supervised if the court determines that unsupervised contact between the parent and the child would endanger the child. This is common if the parent has major substance abuse issues or a history of significant domestic violence/child abuse.

What Is Child Support?

In short, child support is a payment that is made to the other parent to help with the ordinary expenses of raising a child. Expenses such as costs of extracurricular activities, education expenses, and medical expenses not covered by insurance, are in addition to child support. Child support payments are not taxable to the recipient parent.

The court calculates the child support amount based on the parents’ income, the amount of parenting time each parent has, costs of health insurance, costs of childcare, and other extraordinary costs on behalf of the child. The court will use the Arizona Child Support Guidelines to determine the amount of support unless the parties agree to child support in a different amount. If there is no agreement otherwise, the court will utilize the guidelines virtually 100% of the time.

A common misconception is that there is no child support if the parents share equal time. That is not necessarily the case; however, the amount of parenting time a parent has can drastically change the calculation for child support. If a parent has very little parenting time, their child support obligation might be higher than if they share equal parenting time.

The Relationship Between Child Support and Custody

Child support and “custody” (parenting time) are related in that the amount of parenting time a parent has with the child has an impact on the amount of child support ordered. That is because the court presumes that a parent is providing for the child financially when the child is in their care. If the child is always in the other parent’s care, the non-custodial parent has to pay more to assist with the expenses of raising the child.

Child support and “custody” are not related in a way that allows a parent to refuse one in response to the other parent refusing the other. For example, a parent cannot withhold the child from the other parent for failure to pay support. Similarly, a parent cannot refuse to pay support in response to the other parent withholding the child. The issues are completely separate in that regard. The appropriate step to take if the other parent fails to pay support or withholds the child is to file a Petition to Enforce.

Child Support Guidelines

Although the Arizona Child Support Guidelines are not officially law, the court treats the guidelines as law and will order the amount determined by the guidelines virtually 100% of the time unless the parties agree to a different figure.

Whether you are seeking a divorce, dissolving a marriage, or filing for paternity, you will have to follow child support guidelines. These guidelines are based on specific criteria and result in a computation of the amount of support to be paid.

The Guidelines account for the respective incomes of the parents, the amount of parenting time each parent has, the costs of health insurance and childcare paid by a parent, and other extraordinary costs (special needs/education costs) paid by a parent.

Parents may agree to an amount other than the amount calculated by the guidelines; however, the court does have the authority to deny the agreement if the court determines it is not in the best interests of the children

Who is responsible for Child Support Payments?

The child support worksheet provided by the court will determine which parent is obligated to pay child support. The worksheet is pre-formatted consistent with the Arizona Child Support Guidelines. The worksheet takes into account the incomes of both parents, the amount of parenting time each parent has, the cost of health insurance and child care paid by a parent, and other extraordinary costs on behalf of the child (special needs/educational costs).

Not all expenses for the child are included in child support. The court presumes that both parents are providing the basic needs of the child (food, clothing, shelter) while the child is in that parent’s care. Additionally, costs such as extracurricular activity costs and medical costs not covered by insurances will generally be divided between the parents in addition to child support.

Child support ends when the child turns eighteen years old or graduates high school, whichever comes last. If the child turns nineteen years old, and has not graduated high school, child support ends the month that the child turns nineteen years old. Parents are not obligated to pay child support while a child is in college, nor are parents required to pay for their child’s college under Arizona law.

Need Help With A Child Custody Issue?

Every child deserves to grow up in a safe, supportive environment with access to the opportunities and services they need. We have helped families overcome their legal hurdles. We handle many types of cases involving children. Whether your case is about child support, establishing paternity, parenting time and legal decision-making, or a full divorce case, we can help you!