Parenting Time and decision-making

“SEVERITY AND FREQUENCY” OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE – ARS 25-403.03 Part 9

This is the 9th post about ARS 25-403.03, Arizona’s new DV law. The previous post discussing coercive control is here. How much does the severity

August 4, 2026 No Comments

Coercive Control Won’t Be Easy to Recognize and Understand Without a Lot of Specialized Training – ARS 25-403.03 – Part 8

In ARS 25-403.03M, Arizona’s coercive control definitions include roughly fifteen (15) categories of actions, fourteen of which don’t involve any direct physical violence to a

August 1, 2026 No Comments

Anatomy of a Rebuttal Case: ARS 25-403.03 Part 7

Here are the initial (past) posts about the new DV law, ARS 25-403.03: General overview of Statute, Part 1 General overview of Statute, Part 2

July 9, 2026 No Comments

Arizona Domestic Violence Law Changes, Part 6: What are Judges’ Biggest Challenges in Dealing with HB2995’s (ARS 403.03) Changes?

This is one person’s opinion on the biggest challenges facing Arizona trial court judges in applying the recent (June 22, 2026) changes to the family

June 29, 2026 No Comments

Legislative Changes to Arizona Domestic Violence Law (Part 5): Offender Treatment Programs

This is yet another discussion of HB2995 and its changes to Arizona family law domestic violence proceedings. Once DV is established in a trial court

June 17, 2026 No Comments

Legislative changes to Arizona Domestic Violence Law: Coercive Control and DV Definitions (Part 4)

As HB2995 gives renewed attention to the treatment of domestic violence in Arizona family law cases, it’s important to remember the actual definitions of DV

June 16, 2026 No Comments

Legislative Changes to Arizona Domestic Violence Laws 2026: Summary of Changes, Part 3

Based on parts 1 and 2 of this post, here’s a summary of key changes to ARS 25-403.03 as the result of HB2995 which became

June 15, 2026 No Comments

Legislative Changes to Arizona Domestic Violence Laws 2026 (Part 2)

HB2995 was signed into law by Gov. Hobbs on June 22, 2026 and is effective that date. As noted in Part 1 of this post,

June 15, 2026 No Comments

Legislative Changes to Arizona Domestic Violence Laws 2026 (Part 1)

Note: As of this original posting on June 15, Governor Hobbs had not yet signed HB2995 into law; she did sign it on June 22,

June 15, 2026 No Comments

What is a High Conflict Case

Not all parental separations are alike. Not all parental separations have to be disastrous for the children. Social science research tells us that the biggest

April 11, 2023 No Comments

Does Arizona Have an Equal Parenting Time Presumption?

The never ending question of whether Arizona has a presumption of equal parenting time rages on.[1] I’ve seen various articles that list Arizona as one of several U.S. jurisdictions that have an equal parenting time presumption. A statement that Arizona...

Safe Haven Therapy: An Overview, Part III

This is the third of four posts about safe haven therapy for children. If the parents intend that their child have safe haven therapy, how is that accomplished? A written agreement spelling out everyone’s understanding of the arrangement is...

Child’s Psychologist-Patient Privilege: Can a Parent Waive It In a Custody Case? Hawaii decision

In PO v. JS, the Hawaii Court of Appeals ruled that neither parent can waive or invoke a child’s patient-therapist privilege if the parents themselves are involved in litigation over the child. The Father was attempting to assert the child’s...

What Will the Court Do if We Can’t Agree on a School?

NOTE: On March 1, 2018, the Arizona Court of Appeals (Division 1) issued its decision in Nicaise v. Sundaram, which changes the application of Jordan v. Rea and which establishes that courts should not make school choice decisions when parents...

Custody and parenting time myths, Part II

Here’s part 2 of 2 on custody and parenting time myths. Since we argue a lot, sending messages through the children is the best way to communicate. Using your children as a messengers is always a bad idea. It’s harmful...

Custody and parenting time myths, Part I

Here are some custody and parenting time myths most family lawyers hear about and have to dispel. This is part 1 of 2, the first five: The kids get to choose who they live with as soon as they...

Trial Court is Limited in the Ability to Discipline Children for Not Seeing a Parent

A Maine court has rejected a trial judge’s attempt to order specific punishment for children if they refused to visit a parent. Violette v. Violette, Maine, July 30, 2015. Because the trial judge felt that Mother was not strict enough...

Custody Evaluators: Please STOP Including These Holiday Provisions in Your Recommendations! (Part 2 of 2)

This is a continuation of the previous post which asks that custody evaluators change some Parenting Plan provisions that cause problems for the parents. Many of the problems stem from holiday definitions that require the parents to have extra exchanges...

Custody Evaluators: Please STOP Including These Holiday Provisions in Your Recommendations! (Part 1 of 2)

Anyone who’s read this blog knows my favorite thing is to rant about problems I see in Parenting Plans. Most of these are problems that should never have happened to the poor parents and I feel badly that the court...

Complaints against Court-Appointed Custody Evaluators: A Change in the Process

Apologies in advance; this is a really long post. Arizona Revised Statute 32-2081 is called “Grounds for disciplinary action” and it covers a situation where a court litigant wants to file a board complaint against a mental health professional who was...

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