Many people seek answers to their family law questions on the internet.  My website has a lot of information and answers to peoples' questions.  I have also answered a lot of actual questions from people on Avvo.com.  A good example of this family law Q & A is my last answer:   I have had my son since he was three weeks old, and now that he is 1 year and 8 months his mother wants to share custody. What can I do? She works 10 hour days and leaves him with whoever will watch him. Thomas’s Answer on Mar 11, 2014 If there is no order and you were never married to the mother, she has the right to…

How do Arizona courts deal with legal decision making (custody) and parenting time (visitation) modification issues when one parent’s service in the United States armed forces necessitates the modification?  Generally, the courts may modify legal decision making and parenting time when to do so is in the children’s best interest.  The court must consider the terms of a military parent's family care plan when considering the child's best interest during that parent's military deployment.   If the children live primarily with the military parent, and that parent receives temporary duty, deployment, activation or mobilization orders that require that parent to move a substantial distance away, Arizona courts will not enter a final order modifying parental rights and parent-child contact until…

I very often hear from people that they heard that a child can decide where they will live and with which parent when the child is 14 years old (or some other age).  This is not true.  My answer to the question “How old does my child need to be to decide with whom they live?” is always the same: 18 years old.   The wishes of the child are a factor in the Arizona legal decision making (custody) and parenting time statutes, but they are only one factor.  The older and more mature the child, the more weight the child’s wishes will carry with the judge.  However, they are still only one factor among many factors.  Also, the judge…

 When does child support end in Arizona?  Child support in Arizona does not always end at the same time.  It depends on the particular facts of each case.  Generally, child support ends when a child is over the age of 18 years and has graduated from high school.    Child support in Arizona generally ends when a child reaches 18 years of age.  If the child has not graduated from high school, child support will continue until the child graduates from high school, but only until the child reaches the age of 19 years as long as the child remains in high school.  In rare circumstances, the family court may order that child support continue past the age of majority,…