Appealing Arizona Custody Decisions: What You Need to Know

Appealing custody decisions is a right parents may exercise in Arizona. Child custody decisions are some of the most difficult and heart-wrenching decisions made in family court. Regardless of the circumstances, most parents love their children and want what is best for them. Though the court aims to provide support for young people who go through custody decisions, they do not always get it right. This leaves parents feeling lost and helpless when it comes to their children.

If you have approached the Arizona family court system for a child custody decision and believe that there was a miscarriage of justice, there are steps that you can take. Though the situation may seem desperate, things are never hopeless with the help of a qualified attorney. The appeals process may be able to help you achieve a child custody agreement that is appropriate for your family.

With the help of The Valley Law Group, you can seek a custody appeal through the appeal court system. Since this area of the law is so complex, it is always important to understand the process before you embark on this or any legal journey.

Recognizing Child Custody in Arizona

Child custody decisions can have a serious impact on your family’s daily life and well-being, whether you appeal them or not. Understanding child custody is the key to making informed and empowered choices surrounding your case and any resulting appeals.

When most people think of child custody, they think of physical custody, known in Arizona as parenting time. This is the amount of time that the child spends with each parent, and the parent with primary physical custody is the parent who holds the majority of physical custody. When a parent has physical custody, they are expected to provide housing, food, hygiene necessities, emotional support, and other basics.

Legal custody is the other part of the custody equation and is referred to as “legal decision-making rights” in Arizona. When a parent has full legal custody, they are able to make decisions about the child’s healthcare, lifestyle, and similar matters. It is possible for one parent to have sole physical and legal custody, but many parents share both.

Common Child Custody Arrangements

Parents may create a custody agreement for approval by the court, or the court will order a custody arrangement for a family. This arrangement outlines how many hours or days the child must spend with each parent per month. Depending on the circumstances, the parents may be allowed to set their own custody arrangement schedules as long as the schedule meets the requirements set forth by the court.

Shared Custody

Shared custody occurs when both parents are granted equal or approximately equal custody over their child. In these situations, the child may spend one week at one parent’s home and one week at the other’s. Some families may choose to split each week between homes. As long as the amount of time that the child spends under the guardianship of each parent is approximately equal, the court requirements will be satisfied.

Partial Custody

Partial custody is an arrangement in which one parent gets the majority of the custody, but the other parent does have regular custodial rights. The arrangement may be weekdays with one parent and weekends with the other, for example.

Visitation

Visitation arrangements mean that there is one custodial parent who has the vast majority of the custody rights. However, the other parent has the legal right to spend time with the child for a certain number of hours per month. This may include overnights at the non-custodial parent’s home, or it may be daytime only. In most visitation arrangements, the parent with visitation rights usually does not have any legal guardianship over the child.

Sole Custody

Sole custody occurs when one parent gets full-time custodial rights over their child, and the other parent does not have the right to parenting time with their child. In these situations, the non-custodial parent is usually unable or unwilling to provide care and support to the child and will likely need to pay child support to make up for their lack of custody contribution.

How Courts Make Custody Decisions in Arizona

The court takes the determination of child custody very seriously. The state’s top priority when making these decisions is the physical and emotional health and safety of the child or children at hand, summed up as the child’s best interests. Though the child’s personal preferences may be taken into account, the court focuses primarily on what is best for the child regardless of the desires of those involved.

To determine custody in Arizona, the court will assess each parent’s:

There may be additional factors that the court takes into account during the child custody determination process. To ensure that the court accurately assesses your situation as a parent and considers all extenuating factors, it is crucial to have legal counsel representing you.

Can Child Custody Be Appealed in Arizona?

It is possible for the judge to make an error during the child custody process, especially if vital information was not presented during the proceedings. If you believe that the judge misinterpreted or was missing certain evidence and information or that there was some sort of miscarriage of justice in your case, you may make a child custody appeal.

During a child custody appeal process, an appellate court will review your case as it was presented and come to an independent conclusion about your claim. If the court’s conclusion agrees with the initial ruling, the decision stands. If the appellate court believes that there was an error in the first set of court proceedings, the ruling may be altered.

Grounds for an Arizona Child Custody Appeal

There are only a few circumstances that enable someone to appeal a child custody decision. If your situation does not align with one of these circumstances, known as grounds for appeal, you will likely be denied an appeal.

You may file an appeal if you believe that there was a prejudicial error in the court’s decision. In other words, the judge or court mishandled the law in a significant way, and that mishandling of justice caused you harm.

The other primary reason that you can file an appeal is that you believe that the court made assumptions that did not have sufficient evidence to support them. You wish to have the appellate court review your case to see if your opponent provided enough evidence for the claims they made.

If either of these is true, it is essential to consult with a skilled Arizona family law attorney.

What if I Don’t Agree With the Child Custody Decision?

Unfortunately, child custody cases can easily make one or both parents upset. Often, it is not possible to give both individuals what they want, meaning that someone is unhappy with the arrangement that the judge mandates. There is little that can be done in these situations except make lifestyle changes that warrant a modification. Being dissatisfied with your verdict is not cause for an appeal.

However, there are actions you can take short of appealing the court’s decisions.

Modifications

If you are unhappy with your child custody agreement but are not eligible for an appeal, you may still be able to change your situation with a modification. A modification asks the court to review your case after some time has passed and you have made changes in your circumstances. If these circumstances directly affect your ability to provide a safe and healthy home for your children, you may be eligible for additional visitation or custody.

For example, if the court denies you custody because you are in active alcohol addiction, you may be able to get a modification of your custody order after you attend rehabilitation and remain sober for a length of time. Though the court may not have believed you to be a fit parent when in active addiction, they may find it appropriate for you to have custody once you are in recovery and doing well.

Not all modifications are due to one’s own situation. A parent may also seek a modification if they believe that the child’s other custodial parent is putting the child in danger. The court may make a modification if they believe that a parent who was once fit to care for the child no longer is.

For example, if your child’s other parent loses their job and home, their new circumstances may make it difficult to provide a safe custodial environment. As such, you may request a modification to take full custody until the other parent has acquired stable housing.

What Constitutes a Change of Circumstances for Child Custody AZ?

There are many reasons an Arizona parent may seek modifications to an Arizona child custody decision. However, the court will not approve a modification without proper evidence that one or both parents’ circumstances have changed. As such, it is important to understand what a change in circumstances really is.

There are many different situations that may alter a parent’s ability to properly care for their child.

Major categories include:

This is not an exhaustive list of reasons that a parent may be more or less able to care for their child than they were when they got their initial verdict. Ultimately, any situation that affects the child’s safety and health may be grounds for a modification. It is the court’s objective to ensure that any child arrangement that they mandate is in the child’s best interest at all times.

Qualified Attorneys for Child Custody Appeals

Just as with any legal process, it is important to have an experienced attorney on your side if you choose to make a child custody appeal. Child custody decisions have a significant impact on you, your family, and your future. As such, it is important to thoroughly advocate for your position in court.

Though the court’s priorities are in the right place, procedure often impedes judges from taking parent preferences into account. If you have an attorney from The Valley Law Group representing you, we can make sure that the judge hears your side of the story. An attorney gives you the opportunity to contextualize any information that the child’s other parent may attempt to hold against you.

How to Appeal a Child Custody Decision in AZ

To properly appeal your child custody decision, you need a qualified attorney to help you present your case. Before you search for a child custody attorney for your appeal, it is helpful to know what to look for. Though it may seem like there are many child custody attorneys to choose from, it is likely that only a few will meet the necessary requirements for your case.

Primarily, you should look for an attorney who has direct experience in child custody appeals. Having experience in family law in general, or even in child custody cases, is not enough. Rather, it is important to look for an attorney who has a history of successful child custody appeals.

Your attorney should also be communicative and easy to talk to. Cases that deal with family and child matters are often difficult, and many clients feel emotionally vulnerable. It is important that you trust your attorney and feel comfortable speaking with them openly and honestly about your situation. Not only will this feel better for you, it will enable your attorney to build a stronger case in your favor.

Lastly, it is important that you discuss cost and budget with any potential attorneys. Though this may seem like a difficult subject, it is necessary for all lawyers and clients to understand their obligations throughout the claim. If you wait until you receive a bill to consider your lawyer’s cost, you may lose your representation before your case is finished, which can severely harm your argument and ultimately ruin your case.

Do not put your family at risk. Hire the services of an experienced, trusted attorney for your child custody appeal process.

The Valley Law Group for AZ Family Law Appeals

Our team at The Valley Law Group is dedicated to supporting parents during a Arizona family law appeals process. For many years, we have helped parents to fight for their rights and the rights of their families to ensure that their children have safe, loving homes. Though this process may be daunting, we approach each case with optimism, tenacity, and compassion to create an appeals argument that works for your situation.