Phoenix Father’s Rights Lawyers

Attorneys Helping You Fight for Your Rights as an Arizona Father

Parenting is one of life’s most meaningful roles.

But when life changes from events like separation or divorce, you might be concerned about your rights as an Arizona father.

The Phoenix family law attorneys at Gillespie, Shields, & Taylor are ready to help you understand your rights and how to protect them. This includes what those rights are, what courts look at, and how to ensure those rights are protected and enforced.

Most importantly, we’ll help you identify what you can do to protect the rights Arizona provides you as a father.

Arizona Legal Protections Affecting the Rights of Any Father

The good news for fathers concerned about their parenting rights is that Arizona courts don’t show a preference for mothers over fathers.

Rather, Arizona courts make decisions about parenting time and decision-making rights based on the best interests of the child and not according to the gender of the parent, according to Arizona Revised Statute § 25-403.

This statute directs the court to consider a list of factors that include the child’s adjustment to home, school, and community, along with the mental and physical health of everyone involved, and each parent’s ability to encourage the child’s relationship with the other parent.

As a result, fathers and mothers start on even footing when facing custody matters. That means each parent is evaluated on the quality of their relationship with the child and their ability to support the child’s welfare. 

Additionally, there are other important Arizona statutes that have a bearing on what parenting rights exist for Arizona fathers.

These include:

Legal Decision-Making and Parenting Time (Arizona Revised Statute § 25-401 and § 25-408)
These statutes provide fathers and mothers with fundamental definitions and principles for who has the legal authority to make decisions for their children like education and health.

They also provide clarity on parenting time, which is the physical schedule of when the child is with each parent, along with guidance on the enforcement of these court decisions.

Establishing Paternity (Arizona Revised Statute § 25-803 and § 25-812)
These statutes spell out the legal procedures for fathers who want to establish paternity in Arizona when parents aren’t married, along with providing guidance on the voluntary acknowledgment of paternity and court-ordered genetic testing when paternity is disputed.

Child Support (Arizona Revised Statute § 25-320)
This statute provides essential guidance for fathers and mothers when child support matters are established by the courts. They include formulas for child support calculation, guidance on enforcement, and grounds for modification.

Because these and other statutes form the backbone of fathers’ rights in Arizona, our Phoenix father’s rights attorneys have acquired a thorough understanding of how to use them to help fathers like you.

Rights All Fathers Have in Arizona

Regardless of marital status, Arizona provides a core set of parental rights for every father who is the accepted biological father of his children.

These rights include:

The right to seek parenting time
In Arizona, parenting time refers to the schedule of when the child spends time with each parent. Rather than prioritizing the mother’s role by default, Arizona courts determine parenting time using the child’s needs and parental availability. Courts prefer frequent, continuing contact with both parents, as long as there are no safety concerns.

The right to seek legal decision-making
Legal decision-making determines who has the authority to make major decisions about the child’s life. In Arizona, any father can request sole or joint legal decision-making based on what is in the child’s best interest. 

The right to request or modify child support
Both fathers and mothers have the right to request child support determinations based on income, parenting time, and the needs of the child under Arizona Child Support Guidelines.

The precise scope of these rights depends on whether the father is married to the child’s mother or not, as well as if paternity has been legally established.

For help understanding and enforcing your rights as a father, turn to the Arizona father’s rights attorneys at Gillespie, Shields & Taylor.

Rights of Married Fathers in Arizona 

If you were married to the child’s mother when the child was born, Arizona law automatically designates you as a parent with full legal rights and responsibilities. 

This means:

• You do not need to take extra steps to establish paternity
• You are presumed to have equal rights to legal decision-making and parenting time
• You can request custody orders in any family court matter 

Being a married father also means you are automatically included in the parenting time and legal decision-making process as decided by the courts, since these are part of the Arizona divorce process involving children.

Let the attorneys at Gillespie, Shields & Taylor use the law to defend your rights and get the best outcome possible.

Rights of Unmarried Fathers in Arizona

For unmarried fathers in Arizona to secure their legal parental rights, they must first take an additional step: establish paternity. 

This is because an unmarried father does not automatically have enforceable parental rights to parenting time or decision-making under Arizona law.

There are two main ways to establish paternity in Arizona:

Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity (VAP)
Parents can sign a VAP form at the hospital after birth or at the Arizona Department of Economic Security’s Child Support Services office. When both parents sign, it legally establishes the father as the parent.

Court orders establishing paternity
If paternity is disputed or no VAP was signed, a father can file a petition in the Arizona Superior Court to establish paternity. The court may order genetic testing to confirm biological fatherhood. 

Once paternity is established, a father has the same parental rights and responsibilities as a married father, including the ability to request parenting time and legal decision-making. Our father’s rights attorneys are ready to help you understand and enforce these rights.

Can a Mother Deny Access to a Father in Arizona?

In Arizona, a mother cannot legally deny a father access to his child if the father has established parental rights through marriage or paternity and if there is a court order governing parenting time. 

Once there is a court-issued parenting time, both parents are legally required to follow it. If a mother refuses access in violation of the order, the father can file an enforcement action with the court. 

The court can then legally enforce the order, and may hold the non-complying parent in contempt, modify the parenting plan, or adjust parenting time as appropriate.

 Arizona courts take violations of parenting time orders seriously, since consistency and predictability are important for a child’s stability. Let our Arizona father’s rights attorneys help you if your time with your children is under threat.

What Fathers Should Know About Approaching a Divorce 

An Arizona divorce raises questions for everyone involved, but especially for fathers. Common questions our clients ask are, “Will I lose time with my kids?” “Can I protect my relationship?”, and “What happens to child support?”

To help calm anxiety and create the best outcome, our Arizona family law attorneys have developed these key points every father should consider when approaching a divorce:

Parenting time is not guaranteed
Even if you were a hands-on father before you began to separate, a court order is what dictates how much access you have to your children after separation or divorce.

Courts focus on the child’s best interests
Arizona courts evaluate many factors under Arizona Revised Statute § 25-403, including:

• The child’s adjustment to home, school, and community
• Each parent’s ability to encourage the child’s relationship with the other parent
• A history of domestic violence or substance abuse (if relevant)
• The child’s wishes, if they are mature enough
• Each parent’s ability to meet the child’s needs

As a result, the court will not favor a parent simply because of gender. Every Arizona father facing a divorce should remember this point to help them retain the confidence needed to fight for their parental rights.

Evidence matters
As you prepare for your divorce, it’s important to provide evidence that demonstrates the positive role you play in your children’s lives. Thus, you will want documentation that shows this, such as:

• Your involvement in daily parenting
• Your efforts to promote a positive relationship with the other parent
• Any issues you help with that affect the child’s welfare

Evidence can include schedules, messages, records of activities, and school communications.

Child support
In Arizona, child support is calculated separately from parenting time. Arizona follows laws along with established guidelines that can change each year. These guidelines consider both parents’ income and the amount of parenting time each has.

Temporary orders
Fathers can normally expect temporary orders for parenting time and child support to be entered early in the case. These set expectations while the case is pending.

Modifying orders later
If parenting time or decision-making orders aren’t working, a father can seek a modification later on. In order to do this, however, it must be shown that a substantial and continuing change in circumstances has taken place under Arizona Revised Statute § 25-411.

What Happens If Your Rights as a Father are Violated?

As demonstrated above, every established father has rights in Arizona. Thus, there are consequences if the other parent refuses to follow the court-ordered parenting schedule, blocks communication with your child, or withholds the child during scheduled time. 

If this is what you’re facing, you can ask the court to enforce the order. Common court-ordered remedies may include:

• Contempt proceedings, which can result in fines or changes in parenting time
• Adjustments to the parenting plan
• Reimbursement of missed time

In each case, the goal is to ensure compliance and prioritize the child’s need for consistent relationships with both parents. Our father’s rights lawyers are ready to fight for your legal rights as a father, especially if they have been violated.

Tips to Protect Your Rights as an Arizona Father

Even though there are laws protecting Arizona fathers, your outcome can also depend on the court’s interpretation of matters and circumstances surrounding your family life. 

That means there are practical steps that any father can take to create the best outcome possible, as outlined by our Arizona family law attorneys:

1. Act early – Establish paternity and seek orders before an informal arrangement becomes a disputed one to prevent complications or delays. 
2. Document – Keep records of your involvement, schedules, and communications to help the courts decide they are providing for the child’s best interests by giving you legally-protected access to your children.
3. Communicate respectfully – Courts look favorably on cooperative co-parenting. That means hostile interactions between parents rarely help fathers, even if there is an injustice taking place.
4. Follow court orders – Violating court orders weakens your position later when you want matters ruled in your favor. So follow them, even if you presently disagree with the ruling.
5. Seek experienced counsel – Arizona family law is complex. Thus, the most practical step you can take to protect your rights is to get our family law attorneys on your side, since we possess a thorough knowledge of Arizona statutes and enjoy a stellar reputation in Arizona courts.

Attorneys with Decades of Experience Defending Arizona Fathers’ Rights

Since 1985, the family law attorneys at Gillespie, Shields & Taylor have been fighting for fathers like you to ensure they’re a part of children’s lives.

Our Phoenix father’s rights lawyers are ready to use the full protections offered under Arizona law to get the best outcome possible. Let us provide the guidance you need to get through this challenging moment in life.

Contact Our Phoenix Father’s Rights Lawyers  

Let our father’s rights lawyers at Gillespie, Shields, & Taylor be there for you when you need legal help the most.

We’ll provide proven approaches and legal strategies that help ensure your rights as an Arizona father are protected.

Get started by calling us at 602-870-9700 for our Phoenix location, or 480-985-4000 for our Mesa location.

Or fill out our contact form.