Question: I have been seoerated from my husband for the last 8 week. He told me to take my two boy age 6 & 8 and move to my sisters in Nevada. I have both boys in school here and have a new job . befor my paper were filed with the Nevada. He filed in AZ. I was served today with paper stating I must return the children to Flagstaff. I need to know what I can do to appeal this discision. My husband has anger issues he is bypolar and has very eratic behavior
Answer:
There are mulitiple factors that one might want to consider. The statute that governs whether a parent may or may not take their child to another state is A.R.S. § 13-1302(A)(2) and (A.R.S. § 25-408(B))
Also, if one parent withholds the children from the other, this could be used as evidence against tduring the final custody determination. (See A.R.S. § 25-403(A)(6))
Among many, many other statutory factors, I am sure that the court will also consider:
(a) why the parent felt he needed to leave AZ;
(b) whether a less drastic measure would have resolved his problem;
(c) the degree to which the parent consulted with the other parent about relocation;
(d) the degree to which other parent objected to relocation; and
(e) whether the parent used the threat of taking the children to another state as a tool to get something else he wanted from the other parent (that the other parent refused to concede).
However, because Family Law is extremely complicated, you may want to look at some of the resources available through the organizations list on this website. Additionlly, you may want to contact the Maricopa County Lawyer Referral Line, the Pima County Law Referral Line or the State Bar of Arizona Find a Lawyer Website to see if a family law attorney can assist you.
March 03, 2008
Legal Services Corporation