{"id":1685,"date":"2024-04-16T14:59:12","date_gmt":"2024-04-16T21:59:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/arizona-family-law\/?page_id=1685"},"modified":"2024-10-30T16:26:08","modified_gmt":"2024-10-30T23:26:08","slug":"joint-custody-in-arizona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/arizona-family-law\/blog\/joint-custody-in-arizona\/","title":{"rendered":"How to File for Joint Custody in Arizona"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/span><\/h2>\n

During divorce proceedings in Arizona, spouses with children are required to agree to a custodial determination that outlines who has legal and physical child custody.<\/span><\/p>\n

Parents in Arizona can agree to sole custody or joint custody. Of the two, joint custody is the more common agreement \u2013 sole custody cases are rare and usually occur only when one parent is unfit or unwilling to care for the child.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2012, Arizona passed <\/span>Senate Bill 1127<\/span><\/a>, legislation that placed more focus on joint parenting. The bill prevents Arizona courts from giving preference to one gender or another during custody proceedings. The law was enacted in 2013, and today, the courts are much more likely to grant parenting time to both parents, instead of defaulting to one parent, in order to maximize \u201cboth parents\u2019 time with the child,\u201d according to the Arizona Republic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With this new law, joint custody agreements are only expected to become more common, and the parenting time of each parent is expected to become more equal over time. For parents considering divorce<\/a> or separation<\/a>, it\u2019s important to know how joint custody works and how it affects children.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is Joint Custody in Arizona?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Generally, joint custody refers to \u201cjoint legal custody,\u201d which means that both parents have a legal right to make decisions for the child, including matters of education, medical care, religion, and personal care.<\/span><\/p>\n

Joint custody can also mean \u201cjoint physical custody,\u201d which refers to the actual parenting time that each spouse has with their child. For example, a child may spend weekdays with one parent and then spend weekends with the other. It\u2019s important to note that an agreement can include joint legal custody but not joint physical custody.<\/span><\/p>\n

In many cases, however, joint custody includes both legal and physical custody. Having legal custody is also known as having legal decision-making authority, while physical custody is known as parenting time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Agreeing to a Parenting Plan<\/span><\/h2>\n

When parents agree to joint custody, they must also agree to a written, formalized parenting plan that outlines how the child will be cared for by both parents.<\/span><\/p>\n

This could include:<\/span><\/p>\n