Custody (Legal Decision-Making) and Parenting Time:
Child custody, now known as legal decision-making, and parenting time are the most pressing concerns on a parent’s mind. The different facets of custody can be granted to either parent or to both. Legal decision-making involves decisions about the child’s welfare (including educational, religious and medical decisions) whereas parenting time involves the child’s living arrangements. If you decide to have joint decision-making, you must sign a parenting plan, in accordance with Arizona law. A parenting plan must include:

Child support:
Child support is awarded to parents based on a complex set of calcutions, based on many different numbers. But generally, child support depends on a few factors:

Our legal team can help you quickly determine what your liability for child support mught be. We can also help you to improve your child support options by making these factors work for you.

Father’s Rights:
Fathers need to protect their rights through establishing paternity in court. Did you know any man who might have a child is supposed to register on the Punitive Father’s Registry to prevent termination of parental rights? Knowing your rights and limitations will prevent you, as a Father, from losing your rights to your child or children.

Adoptions:
Adoption is the legal transfer of parental rights from a biological parent to non-biological parent. The court requires termination of parental rights prior to the adoption process. See more on the Juvenile Law page.

We handle a variety of other Family Law issues in court and in mediation:
Modification of Court Orders: Court orders are permanent until modified by agreement of the parties or by a court order. Each type of modification is time sensitive and should be handled with care. One example is if a modification of parenting time is filed less than 12 months from the order it will likely get dismissed. Another example is that child support does not stop automatically, so if the paying parent does not modify the order he or she will be liable for that amount of child support until filing, even if the child is 35 years old.

Relocation/Prevention of Relocation: If both parents have custody rights, a parent wishing to relocate usually must give at least 60 days advance written notice. The non-relocating parent can object to the relocation by petitioning the court for relief and the court will make a decision based on the child’s best interest.

Grandparent’s Rights: Did you know grandparents have rights to see their grandchildren? If a parent is unwilling or unable to provide grandparent time, the grandparents may request the court issue orders for grandparent’s rights.

We provide the personal attention you deserve!

Family law cases are often highly emotionally charged, so it is important that you have a knowledgeable legal advocate on your side to provide calm and rational expertise during the process.

Family law issues can also take a big toll on your parental rights and financial means, and thus, your overall happiness. To protect your best interests, including your children, your assets, and your business, we cannot stress enough the importance of retaining a highly qualified Tempe family law attorney to handle your case. We serve the entire East Valley, and we are confident that our team at Lewis Labadie has the skills necessary to assist you.