In Arizona, therapists, physicians, and other healthcare personnel are required to report child abuse. So, we want to address the standard of care to report child abuse in Arizona. The Arizona Court of Appeals considered this...

In Arizona, a man whose wife has a child is presumed to be the child’s father. However, he can challenge paternity if he has reason to believe he is not the father. He must act without unreasonable delay in order to avoid...

A dependency hearing determines whether children should be taken from their parents and cared for by the state. A parent can appeal an initial determination of dependency, but cannot appeal every order after dependency. Which...

In Arizona, parents must provide financial support to their minor children even after the couple divorced. Courts enforce this requirement by requiring one parent to pay a fixed sum to the other monthly. The court orders an...

When a married woman has a child in Arizona, her husband is presumed to be the father. The situation gets complicated if another man claims paternity. Can he file a petition claiming paternity? Must the child be a party with...

Arizona law provides numerous ways a court can enforce child support obligations. Some remedies are found in the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act, (URESA). One of these is contempt of court. A court has authority...

Generally, a child support obligation in Arizona terminates when the child reaches the age of majority. However, the legislature amended the law to allow post-majority support for disabled adult children. In Mendoza v....

Arizona law gives family courts authority to divide community property equitably between divorcing spouses. This can mean giving one spouse more property if the other has wasted or disposed of community assets. But how about...

Generally, property acquired before marriage remains the separate property of the spouse. In some cases, however, it transmutes to community property. This can happen when a spouse purchases property with separate funds to be...

A parent has the right to notice and an evidentiary hearing before her custody rights are modified. This includes both rulings regarding parenting time and those concerning legal decision-making authority. In Cruz v. Garcia,...