questions & answers

Question: I am going to have a son anyday now. The mother wanted to put him up for adoption but I talked her out of it. She wants to give me full custody of him, being that she's only 17, and in high-school, she wouldn't have time to raise him. How do I ensure I get full custody?

Answer:

In Arizona, non-parents can only receive parenting time under very limited circumstances. First, one of four things must be established: 1)one of the legal parents is deceased or has been missing for three months; 2) the child was born out of wedlock and the legal parents are not married when the petition is filed.; 3) for grandparent visitation, the marriage for the parents has been dissolved for at least 3 months; 4) "a person who has been treated as a parent by a child who has formed a meaningful parental relationship. (A.R.S. 25-401). If any one of these requirements are met, then a court will consider parenting time by a non-parent. However, the court will still use best interest of the child as their primary determinant. The court gives "special weight" to non-parents, which means it's difficult to get parenting time if the parents explicitly object. (A.R.S. 409 (E). http://www.azlawhelp.org/viewresults.cfm?mc=1&sc=1

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