questions & answers

Question: My sons father has contacted me wanting to see my 13 yr old son after no contact in 10 years. He has a bad criminal history. The last custody order 6 yrs ago said he could have supervised visits with his paternal gramma every other weekend overnight & phone contact when it coincides with my sons schedule. He didn't ever show up for ANY visits or even call. I have agreed to phone contact between them for a few weeks then supervised visits. How long should that last? He wanted to call everyday but I don't want him calling so much. Is asking him to call every other day okay? What are my options?

Answer:

-Generally, a parent who is not granted custody of the child is entitled to reasonable parenting time right to ensure that the minor child has frequent and continuing contact with the noncustodial parent UNLESS the court finds, after a hearing, that parenting time would endanger seriously the child’s physical, mental, moral or emotional health, see ARS 25-408(A). Therefore, the custodial parent may file with the court an order for modification of custody decree, more information can be found here. However, it may be helpful to read the original custody decree in full to see what it involves. Also, the articles here may also be helpful when dealing with parenting time and custody.