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Acerca de CHILD CUSTODY Protecting Your Parental Rights And Building A Plan Arizona courts recognize the importance of fostering a healthy child and fulfilling relationship between a parent and a child. Whether you are the father or mother, the days of losing touch with your children in the aftermath of a divorce because of an unfavorable judge’s ruling are the stuff of movies and legend. But, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t significant issues to be addressed during a divorce or paternity case and when deciding matters of child custody and parenting time. At Morse Law Group in Phoenix, Arizona, our first and primary concern is to protect your parental rights and your relationship with your children. We can address the concerns you have regarding sole and joint custody. We will also help you build a reasonable and enforceable parenting plan that will address the questions you haven’t even thought of yet. Building Plans Based On Your Situation And Our Experience We have worked with countless divorce and family law clients, and helped people through the sometimes-contentious landscape of child custody disputes. Morse Law Group has experience as a litigator and a strong ability to negotiate on your behalf. We can help you create a workable custody and parenting plan or, if necessary, advocate for your proposed parenting plan in court. We will make sure that your big concerns about your child’s upbringing, such as education, medical care and religious matters, are respected. But, we will also help you build the long-term plans that will meet the day-to-day needs of raising a child. We help you answer questions you might not have thought to ask: Where will the child spend the holidays? Who will be responsible for picking him or her up from school when sick? Who will be in charge of extracurricular activities? How will vacations be handled? Who makes the decisions or becomes the first point of contact in a sudden emergency? We help you work with the other parent to develop a Parenting Plan that is realistic, enforceable and reasonable. Need More Information Regarding Child Custody? Whether you can work directly with your former partner in a collaborative setting, or you need to fight for your child custody rights and plan in the courtroom, our office can help. Contact us below or by phone at 602-857-9320 today to put our office to work for your child custody concerns. First Name Last Name Email Let us help you focus on your family. Message Send

< Back Client Coordinator Apply Now Phoenix, AZ, USA Job Type Full Time About the Role Our Client Coordinators are often the first person a client will speak with when they begin their family law case. Applicants hoping to join our team as a client coordinator are expected to be able to communicate with clients, act as a point of contact between clients and attorneys, coordinate consultations and meetings, distribute incoming and outgoing mail, answer phone calls, send documents to clients, answer administrative questions, and occasionally file documents. Our Client Coordinators are outgoing, personable, with a high degree of emotional intelligence. They work well as a member of a team, and are able to work independently when necessary. Strong candidates will have good time management and organization skills. Morse Law Group provides employees with the opportunity to experience different roles within a firm, and the Client Coordinator role is a great opportunity to gain exposure to different legal tasks which vary from simple document review to more difficult and engaging projects. Client Coordinators work closely with the firm's paralegals as well as the attorney(s) and should know or will learn court procedures, and how to explain different steps of a case to clients. The ideal candidate must have a strong work ethic, and take pride in helping our firm provide excellent legal representation to our clients. Requirements Excellent communication skills (written, verbal and telephone) Interpersonal skills Emotional intelligence Strong organizational skills and attention to detail with a high level of accuracy Ability to effectively prioritize work under deadline pressure and multi-task in a fast-paced environment Strong computer and document production skills including proficiency with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook) and Time Matters

< Back Associate Apply Now Phoenix, AZ, USA Job Type Full Time About the Role Our Attorneys are experienced in the area of family law. Attorneys interested in joining our team must be able to support a client through their case while also providing exceptional, sound, and rational legal advice. Candidates should be organized, have good time management, and excellent client communication skills. Requirements 3+ years of family law legal experience Actively licensed to practice in Arizona Personable High Emotional Intelligence Strong legal writing and oral advocacy skills Excellent communication skills

My Spouse and I Just Separated, What About our Kids: A Legal Guide to Arizona’s Parenting Time & Legal Decision-Making Process By Amanda Carrizales In Arizona there is no "custody." What is known as "custody" is broken out into two parts: legal decision making and parenting time. Parenting Time You may have heard people refer to the term “custody” or “visitation” when dealing with the scheduled amount of time each parent has physical time with the child(ren). In Arizona, what you may think of as "custody," (the physical, in-person time you spend with your child) is called “parenting time.” TERM TIP: "PARENTING TIME" = physical, in person, time with the child(ren) What does that mean? Each parent during their scheduled parenting time has the responsibility of providing the child with food, clothing, and shelter and may make routine decisions concerning the care of the child. What is a parenting plan? A parenting plan is your plan to see your child(ren). Parenting plans should be detailed and should include (1) a schedule for when you have the child(ren) and when their other parent has the child(ren), (2) a time and location for exchanges to take place, (3) who is transporting the child(ren) (i.e. will they be dropped off? picked up?) What are my options for a parenting schedule? Your parenting schedule can be whatever you make it, whatever makes the most sense for you and your family. However, there are some regular parenting time schedules that families tend to use: "Week On/Week Off" - Exactly how it sounds, a week on/week off schedule has the child(ren) spend one week with one parent, then the next week with the other parent. This schedule works best with older children, and is normally not recommended for infants/young children. For younger children, shorter, frequent, parenting time visits with each parent are preferable for their development. “5-2-2-5” - A 5-2-2-5 plan is where one parent has Mondays and Tuesdays overnight, the other parent has Wednesdays and Thursdays overnight, then the parents alternate Friday-Saturday-Sunday overnights each week. This schedule is a two-week rotation. "2-2-3" - A 2-2-3 parenting schedule means that the child(ren) are with one parent for two days, then the other parent for two days, before returning to the first parent for three days. A 2-2-3 schedule is considered an alternating schedule, which means that your parenting time days will alternate every week, meaning, one parent won't always have Mondays. A benefit to this schedule is that you get to have parenting time on various days. A downside to this schedule is that you will not always have parenting time on a set day, Monday for example, which can be harder for making plans. I want to have "sole custody". It is very difficult to get sole parenting time. Arizona family courts lean heavily towards child(ren) having access to both parents, on an equal parenting time basis. In fact, one of the factors courts look at when determining parenting time is which parent is more likely to encourage a frequent, meaningful, and continuing contact between the child(ren) and the other parent. However, in specific instances of very serious endangerment, the court may limit or require supervision of one parent's parenting time. Legal Decision-Making What is Legal Decision Making? The courts differentiate between the physical time you spend with your child and the major decisions a parent can make legally for the child, such as education, and health. TERM TIP: "LEGAL DECISION MAKING" = major education and health decisions for the child(ren) Joint Legal Decision Making Joint Legal Decision Making is when both parents discuss and make decisions concerning the children's health and education together. Neither party has final say, or "veto power" over the other. Final Say If two parents are incapable of reaching a decision as to the child(ren)'s education or health, you can ask for "joint legal decision making with final say." Both parents will still have to discuss decisions, and try to reach an agreement, but if no agreement can be reached, one parent gets to make the decision. Oftentimes, if a parent has final say, it is to only healthcare decisions or only educational decisions. Can I get sole legal decision making? Parents can always agree for one parent to have legal decision making, or to have sole legal decision making just for healthcare decisions or just for education decisions. Courts are not inclined to award one parent sole legal decision making unless it is absolutely necessary. Some circumstances that the Court may consider are: Drug or alcohol abuse Child abuse Domestic violence involving the kids Criminal history Severe mental health issues One parent's refusal to allow the child(ren) to receive medical treatment Who decides the legal decision-making and parenting time? You! Parents can always agree between themselves, and then have their agreement filed or put on record with the Court. If an agreement is not on the record or in writing, and signed by both parties, then it is not enforceable. If you have reached an agreement as to parenting time and legal decision making, write it down, and make sure you both sign it. If you cannot reach an agreement, then the Court will decide. However, you know yourself and your family the best, so it is always preferable to reach an agreement as opposed to letting the Court decide. Do I have to have the same schedule forever? No. Over time, and with changing circumstances, you can modify parenting time and legal decision making. These modifications can either be made by agreement of both parents or by a Judge. LEARN MORE See A.R.S. § 25-401 for the definition of Legal Decision-Making and Parenting Time. See A.R.S. § 25-403 for the factors the Court considers when making a decision

What is “legally single," and can you follow in Kim Kardashian’s footsteps and do the same thing? After a tumultuous few months following filing for divorce in 2021, as of March 2, 2022, Kim Kardashian has been declared “legally single” by California judges. If you are going through a divorce or thinking about going through a divorce, you might wonder what it means to be “legally single,” and how/if you can do the same thing. What is it? “Legally single” is a phrase Kim Kardashian has used to bifurcate (split) her divorce proceeding into two parts- separating her relationship status and legal name from assets and child custody. Bifurcation is used to allow one party to move forward with their romantic life as a single person, while dealing with other more complex matters like finances and parenting. Kardashian’s argument was that her husband, Kanye West, was never going to move forward with divorce (as he had been skirting divorce court dates and paperwork) proceedings, and that she wanted to be able to move on. So essentially, “legally single,” is part one of a two part divorce proceeding, that allows a party to not be married, while not yet being fully divorced. Can you become “legally single” in Arizona? The short answer is, no. Arizona does not allow bifurcated divorces, and therefore, there is no way to become “legally single,” before completing the other requirements of the divorce process. Kim Kardashian is getting divorced in the state of California, a state which, by statute, permits bifurcated divorce. California Family Code § 2337(a) allows the court (in California) to sever and grant an early and separate trial on the issue of the dissolution of the status of the marriage, apart from other issues (like assets and childcare). In Arizona, Arizona Revised Statute Section 25-312(4) requires the court to divide the parties’ assets and debts, enter child custody orders, enter child support, and, if appropriate, enter spousal maintenance when issuing a divorce decree. The court therefore, is not allowed to grant a divorce decree without first resolving other matters like assets, debts, custody, and support. Further, the Arizona Supreme Court held that the use of separate judgements to resolve issues of marriage dissolution and property distribution is erroneous. Porter v. Estate of Pigg. So, in Arizona, you cannot separate out the different “parts” of a divorce, allowing a party to be “legally single” separate from all the other matters. What can you do? In Arizona, before a divorce is final you can still legally change your name, and enter into binding partial agreements that allow you to resolve one matter, like property or custody, before the divorce is final. This normally happens when the parties are stuck on one matter, but want to move forward/resolve other things that they agree upon.