IN PLAIN ENGLISH
How custody works in Arizona
Arizona uses two terms where other states say custody. Legal decision-making is who makes the big decisions about your child, like school, medical care and religion. Parenting time is the schedule of when your child is with each parent. Either one can be shared or given to one parent. [AZ-P1, AZ-P2]
Arizona does not start from a fixed 50/50 split. The law tells the judge to adopt a parenting plan that is best for the child and that maximizes each parent's parenting time, as long as that is consistent with the child's best interests and safety. [AZ-P3]
There is no required statewide schedule. The Arizona courts publish a guide called Planning for Parenting Time with sample schedules by age, from babies to teenagers. The guide itself says it is not the law and does not set a minimum or maximum amount of time. Many parents use it to agree on a plan. [AZ-P4]
The judge usually requires both parents to take a parent education class by a deadline the court sets. Even a father who is on the birth certificate has no court-enforceable parenting time until a court orders it. [AZ-P5, AZ-P6]
Words you’ll see in your papers
- Legal decision-making
- Arizona's word for legal custody: the right to make major decisions about your child. The court can order it joint (shared) or sole (one parent). [AZ-P2]
- Parenting time
- The schedule for when your child is with each parent, including holidays and school breaks. [AZ-P3]
- Parenting plan
- The written plan the court adopts. By law it must cover decision-making, a practical schedule, holidays, how exchanges happen, and how the parents will talk and handle changes. [AZ-P3]
- Parent Information Program (PIP)
- A parent education class the judge usually requires both parents to take in divorce, legal separation and paternity cases involving children. [AZ-P5]
COMMON QUESTIONS
What parents in Arizona ask first
Does Arizona start from 50/50?
Not as a fixed rule. The judge must adopt a plan that maximizes each parent's parenting time, but only as far as that is in the child's best interests. Shared decision-making does not have to mean equal time. [AZ-P3]
What does the judge look at?
The law lists factors, including: your child's relationship with each parent now and in the past; the child's bond with siblings and others; how settled the child is at home, school and in the community; the child's wishes if old and mature enough; everyone's mental and physical health; which parent is more likely to support the child's relationship with the other parent; any domestic violence or child abuse; and whether a parent lied to the court or pressured the other into an agreement. [AZ-P1]
Is there a standard parenting time schedule in Arizona?
No required one. The state courts' Planning for Parenting Time guide offers sample schedules grouped by age (birth to 2, 2 to 3, 3 to 5, 6 to 9, 10 to 12, and teens). It says plainly that it is a tool, not the law. Your own order controls. [AZ-P4]
Does my child get a say?
The judge considers your child's wishes about decision-making and parenting time if the child is of suitable age and maturity. Arizona law does not name a specific age. [AZ-P1]
Can the other parent move away with our child?
If you both live in Arizona and share decision-making or parenting time under a written agreement or court order, a parent who wants to move the child out of state, or more than 100 miles within Arizona, must give at least 45 days' written notice, by certified mail or as the court rules allow. The other parent then has 30 days to ask the court to stop the move. [AZ-P7]
Can a parenting time order be changed later?
Usually you must wait one year after the order before asking to change legal decision-making or parenting time. A judge can allow an earlier request if sworn statements show the child's current situation may seriously endanger the child's physical, mental, moral or emotional health. If you share legal decision-making, you can ask sooner if there has been domestic violence or child abuse since the order, or after six months if the other parent is not following the order. [AZ-P8]
We were never married. Does the father have rights?
Even if paternity is established and the father is on the birth certificate, he has no legal right to parenting time or legal decision-making until a court orders it. Either parent can file a paternity case that also asks for decision-making, parenting time and child support. [AZ-P6]
What if there is domestic violence?
Arizona law treats domestic violence and child abuse as against a child's best interests. If the judge finds a parent committed domestic violence, the law presumes that giving that parent decision-making or parenting time is bad for the child, and that parent has to overcome it. A 2026 law made these rules stronger: the judge must write down findings on any domestic violence claim before ruling, and cannot make the victim prove the violence was severe or frequent enough. [AZ-P9, AZ-P14]
Free, official places to start
- Planning for Parenting Time: Arizona's Guide for Parents Living Apart
The state courts' guide with sample schedules by child's age; suggestions, not rules.
- AZCourtHelp: Parent Education Program
Who has to take the required parenting class and when the court can excuse it (Arizona Bar Foundation).
- A.R.S. 25-403: Best interests factors
The full list of things the judge must consider.
LOCAL SPOTLIGHT · PHOENIX
Maricopa County
Superior Court of Arizona in Maricopa County, Family Department
Maricopa County uses state law but publishes its own family court forms and guides through its Law Library Resource Center. Its Parenting Time resource guide points you to the right form packet: to set parenting time, get a temporary order during a case, change an order, ask for an emergency order, or enforce an order the other parent is not following. [AZ-P10] In Maricopa, both parents usually must finish the Parent Information Program class within 45 days after the petition is served. If you do not, the judge may not sign your papers and you may not be able to change or enforce the order until you finish it. [AZ-P11] The court's Conciliation Services also runs mediation and, when a judge orders it, a parenting conference with a $300 per person fee, where a conciliator writes a report to help the judge decide. [AZ-P12]
- Parenting Time Resource Guide
The court library's guide that matches your situation to the right Maricopa form packet.
- Family Court Forms
Maricopa's official forms to start a paternity or parenting time case, respond, or request mediation.
- Order and Notice to Attend Parent Information Program Class (DR12fz, PDF)
The court order that tells both parents to finish the parenting class within 45 days of service.
- Family Conciliation Services
Mediation, the parent education program and court-ordered parenting conferences.
Other counties in Arizona can have different local rules and forms. Check the court where your case is filed.
THE DETAILED GUIDE · WHAT KIND OF SCHEDULE THE LAW PROVIDES
Optional statewide model
Research overview
State court publishes optional developmental sample schedules, not a mandatory statewide order. [AZ1-AZ3]
Legal force and applicability
Optional planning model; not an automatic enforceable calendar. Specific agreement/order and scope control.
Authority and geographic scope
State court publishes optional developmental sample schedules, not a mandatory statewide order. [AZ1-AZ3]
Custody and parenting-time presumptions
A.R.S. 25-403.02 requires a best-interest parenting plan maximizing respective parenting time, subject to safety statutes; shared legal decision-making does not necessarily mean equal time. [AZ1]
Schedule & conditions
Read these topics together with your actual order. A model, form, or presumption does not automatically supply an enforceable calendar.
Regular school-year schedule
The guide presents several possible schedules, from short recurring visits to overnight/equal-time patterns. Select a suitable arrangement and obtain agreement/order; no automatic every-other-weekend rule. [AZ2]
Holidays and school breaks
Plan must state holidays and school vacations; official guide discusses planning alternatives without imposing a universal odd/even assignment. [AZ1, AZ2]
Summer and vacation time
Summer must be specified in the individual parenting plan; guide alternatives are not a statewide summer allotment. [AZ1, AZ2]
Age and development
Guide groups children by birth-24 months, 24-36 months, 3-5, 6-9, 10-12 and teenagers. Age labels guide planning, not automatic legal transitions. [AZ2]
Distance, travel, and relocation
Long-distance arrangements require individualized selection. Do not infer a state mileage breakpoint from the developmental guide. [AZ2]
Safety & exceptions
Best interests and §§25-403.03-.05 govern safety limits; the current plan statute also refers to safe exchange locations under §25-403.10. [AZ1]